Winter Salads: Contradiction or Nourishing Convenience?

I love salad. I love all kinds of salad with all sorts of goodies thrown in. Give me a plate of some mixed greens, nuts, fruit, cheese, or unexpected vegetables tossed together in some kind of vinegar or citrus juice and I'm a happy camper. So you can imagine that a serious dilemma ensues in the winter when us North Easterners enter the barren season and have a limited or non-existent supply of fresh, local produce. But in the winter, as much as I should say no to produce because it is not in season locally, I can't!

No matter what the growing season, it is a constant struggle for me to balance being a locavore with the desire to eat organically grown foods. What is the order of precedence? If food isn't local & organic, is the next best choice local & conventional or not local & organic? I suppose a lot depends on the reasons for purchasing that way and where you want your food dollar to count. Not to mention the fact that we've become spoiled in our expectations for produce availability year round. If  you've never read about what it means to eat locally and why it is so important for our environment, here is some information and here is a really good article about a person who stuck to a 100-mile diet in Philly. I also highly recommend reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

As a partial reconciliation (I like to tell myself), I've taken to expanding my definition of local in the winter. Citrus fruits are in season right now in Florida, so I am loading up on oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines. Pomegranate, cultivated in Florida and California in recent years, is just ending its peak season. Here's a great site to find out what is in season near you. When early Spring rolls around, we'll have more options at our local farmers markets and I'll go back to a more narrow definition of local. And, someday when we have space for a garden, it will be even easier.

Here's what's cooking...

CITRUS SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE

I love this recipe! This salad is packed with nutrition and in the winter is a sunny reminder that spring is around the corner. Easy to throw together after a long day of work, I might add in a can of garbanzo beans or some tempeh to make a complete meal. This is adapted from The Mexican Cookbook by Marlena Spieler. 

Ingredients:

1 lg. pomegranate, arils (seeds) removed

1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

1 avocado, diced

1/2 med. red onion, thinly sliced

zest of 1 lime

zest of 1 orange

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 limes, juiced

1/2 tsp. sugar or honey

1/4 tsp. dry mustard or 1/2 tsp. your favorite mustard

5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

kosher or sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

8-10 cups of your favorite lettuce or salad mix

1/3 c. raw almonds, roughly chopped

How to prepare:

The easiest way to remove the arils from the pomegranate, is to cut it into quarters. 

Then, press back the outer skin to push the arils into a bowl. 

Trust me, you want to do this yourself rather than buying the arils already removed at the store. They taste about 100 times better removed at home and it takes literally less than 2 minutes. 

Gently toss together the sectioned grapefruit, oranges, avocado and red onion with the pomegranate arils.

In a separate bowl, combine the lime zest, orange zest, garlic, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, and mustard. Season to taste, then wisk in the olive oil. 

Place your lettuce on top of the dressing, add the citrus mixture and toss to coat. Top with chopped almonds and serve immediately. 

Did you know?

Citrus is most commonly thought of as a good source of vitamin C. However, like most other whole foods, citrus fruits also contain an impressive list of other essential nutrients, including both glycemic and non-glycemic carbohydrate (sugars and fiber), potassium, folate, calcium, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B₆, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and a variety of phytochemicals. In addition, citrus contains no fat or sodium and, being a plant food, no cholesterol. No wonder Florida is called the sunshine state!