The term one’s “‘salad days'” refers to when one is young and inexperienced.  I used to love cooking for my parents once I got in college.  I was never more than footsteps from them.  First, I went to an excellent community college and then I went to SMU which is still in the city.  My mother seriously used to make every meal from scratch until the day I was graduated from high school.  I can still see our tiny, windowless apartment kitchen where I spent the majority of my childhood.  She always had a cloth calendar hanging on the wall and an apron around her waist.  She made the best meatloaf and stuffed bell peppers in the entire world.  I STILL cannot believe I got upset because the other kids got the cool, new “TV dinners” while my mother was making every meal by hand.  We did not even own a microwave until I was graduated from high school and I will never forget the fateful night I asked her what was for dinner.  “Whatever goes ‘beep beep beep'” was her reply.  How COULD she?!  Well, I was seventeen and she had been making dinners at least five days a week for Daddy and me for all those years.  The adult mother in me not only does not blame her; she marvels at her.  The youth in me was hurt and outraged.  It was then that I began cooking for them.  My father taught me his grilling techniques and I found I loved having them over for dinner.  When I got married I felt like I was starting all over.  My cooking was being compared/contrasted with someone else’s, including staff that worked for my husband’s parents.  Then we were fortunate enough to have a child and it added her opinion into the mix.  Something as simple as a SALAD became a big deal.  Somebody didn’t like this; somebody was “freaked out” by the texture of that.  FINALLY I settled our family of three upon Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, heirloom tomatoes, and a celebrity’s olive oil and vinegar dressing.  Everything is organic and all of the profits of the salad dressing go toward charity.  Heaven help I am TRYING to add more ingredients!  The Ethiopian-born Swedish-raised chef Marcus Samuelsson said:

“Salad can get a bad rap.  People think of bland and watery iceberg lettuce, but in fact, salads are an art form, from the simplest rendition to a colorful kitchen-sink approach.”

I agree.  I would like to add SO many more ingredients!  Avocado, onion, Mandarin oranges, pecans, chickpeas, spinach, black olives, sunflower seeds, jalapeños, and so much more.  For now I guess I shall content myself with the simple salad days.