Two Simple Salads

After my previous recipe involving an obscene amount of heavy cream and another recent recipe which corrupted an otherwise healthy soup with a splash of cream followed by a liberal sprinkling of bacon and cheese, I thought I'd better redeem myself with something posing less of a threat to your arteries. In case you were growing concerned, I do eat things other than simple carbohydrates and cheese. (Like cream!) In fact, I almost had a meltdown this morning when I realized that I was out of pomegranates. Still don't believe me? I eat salads, and I have photographic evidence to prove it.

The following "recipes" are just a couple salads that I've thrown together lately that I thought were worth sharing. The first one confirms the theory that a runny egg yolk makes almost everything better, salad being no exception. If you're thinking, "Egg yolk?! I thought these were supposed to be healthy salads," do not fear. Yes, the egg yolk is where all of the cholesterol is, but it's also where most of the vitamins and minerals are. Not to mention it's the most delicious part, especially when it's warm and gooey and spilling out onto everything else on your plate. And I will hop off my little egg yolk soapbox right...now.

The second salad was one that we threw together for our Italian dinner party using just a few things I had in the fridge. Because I failed to get any appetizing photos of it that night, I recreated it yesterday with a few minor changes. The original version used parmesan instead of queso fresco and balsamic instead of red wine vinegar. I prefer the balsamic over the red wine vinegar, but I have a hard time picking one cheese over the other. Also, the recreated version used beets from my aunt Amy's garden instead of beets from the grocery store, which in and of itself may make it the winner. Come to think of it, the egg from the first salad might have been one of the eggs laid by Amy's chickens.

Have you ever received eggs via UPS? Eggs that your chicken cousins have laid? I have, and they were delicious. At least the ones that survived the journey. You haven't lived until the UPS truck pulls up with a box of eggs for you. Thank you, Amy!

Arugula, parmesan, poached egg, olive oil, balsamic

Mixed greens*, roasted beets, queso fresco, freshly cracked pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar

*Spinach would be a really good substitute.