A week for salad?

En français ici.
After one weekend and 3 different wonderful gourmet restaurants with my parents, where we ate and drank all night, I feel the need this week to GO GREEN! No, I'm not talking about joining an environmental group (although that's not a bad idea), I'm talking about leafy greens!

Don't get me wrong, I don't think of salad as a diet or anything. There are whole periods when I crave those yummy green veggies -- I can't help myself - especially since lettuce in France is so delicious (don't ask me why it's better than in the US; it just is). Of course, what makes or breaks salad in my opinion is the salad dressing. Usually I just make a simple oil and vinegar one with salt, pepper and mustard (I haven't done store bought since I moved to Paris - homemade is so much yummier), but when I want something a little special, I turn it over to D.K. who apart from writing a novel, keeping a daily literary blog, and being a theater critic for Culturofil, also happens to make a mean salad dressing ! (Some people just get all the talent, I tell you.)


I poured this over plain lettuce, but it would be just as good over a more complicated salad. It's especially delicious over a mix of tomato and avocado with a little bit of feta cheese.

D.K.'s Shallot Dressing
(for one big bowl of salad)

1 tsp spicy mustard
1 Tbsp soy sauce (D. uses a French sauce called Maggi, which isn't actually soy sauce because it's made with wheat, not soy, but I think soy sauce would be the closest equivalent if you can't find Maggi)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 shallot, minced

Put the spicy mustard and soy sauce in a bowl and mix well. Add the olive oil and shallot, mix and pour over salad. Toss the salad and serve with some good bread.

My parents also left us with some delicious cheeses that makes this salad into a more than adequate meal! Yummy.