Once upon a time salad was leafy green….mostly that meant iceberg lettuce
and tomatoes came in packets – except when they came from the garden.
And salad dressing was a verb, what my mother did after the potatoes were mashed and before we had to wash our hands to sit down to supper,
The lettuce was ripped and put in the salad bowl, and then the tomatoes were cut on top. Cukes – peeled and sliced. Cut in half to make half moon or in quarters to make little triangles. Radishes – sliced and added but not always.
No fancy radishes – red on the outside and white on the inside radishes
Not a lot of fancy ingredients – olives always got their own dish, croutons didn’t show up until the ’80’s – salad was salad and not much more.
Now do I remember the order of what comes next?????
Oil, a circle around, not too much. And not EVOO, this is before Rachael Ray. Our oil often had
Wessonality
Toss.
Sprinkle the salt –
When it rains, it pours
Sprinkle the pepper
Sprinkle the dried basil
More tossing.
Wine vinegar – just a little.
Not balsamic, not artisan, not fancy, salad was for supper not showing off.
Toss some more.
Put the bowl on the table, wash those hands and sit down at the table.
Things got fancier in the ’70’s…..
Good Seasons Dressing Mix – with cruet included
Up until a few minutes ago, I’ve been calling this Good Seasonings Salad Dressing.
Good Seasons, of course was the gateway bottle to the Wishbone and Kraft and Kens Dressings that would flood the market – and our table – in the ’80’s…
To be continued……..
This is bringing back lots of memories of the days when I grew up. Salad was homemade and very simple — just like you mentioned. And oil and vinegar, a little salt and pepper were all the ingredients we added to make it delicious. And……..we never ate it before our meal. It was always served with our meal or after our pasta and meatballs were eaten. Those were the days when food was more natural and better for our bodies. IMW