Salad as a meal, ah, summer salad. Let me count the ways:  Pasta salad. Potato salad. Coleslaw. Tomato salad. Chicken salad. Tuna salad. Not to mention Tuna Salad’s French cousin, Salad Nicoise. All of them, when you bring it down to the basics, a combination of some kind of carbohydrate, some kind of protein, and lots of vegetables. Obviously each being more than the sum of their parts. Each one good for you and your family. Even better…each one delicious in its own way.

One of the more friendly aspects of salad is it not only allows you to dress it up or dress it down according to tastes and rate of hunger, it positively encourages it. Take potato salad. You want to talk about a salad that encourages summer eating. You start with any kind of potato you like, cut in any shape you like, steamed, boiled, or baked. When the potato is still hot, so it will soak up flavor, sprinkle it with your choice: white wine, chicken broth, pickle juice, your call. Toss it with as many minced or chopped herbs as you like: Dill is great. Basil always a hit. Chopped or sliced onion of some kind (I’ve even used the green tops of Farmers Market red onions, to great effect). Then your choice of dressing. Classic vinaigrette is always good. Mayonnaise. GARLIC mayonnaise. Whole plain yoghurt. Sour cream. A mix of garlic mayonnaise and yoghurt. Salt and pepper.

Still hungry? Add a can of good drained tuna. Or a drained jar of chopped pickled herring. Or leftover cold roast chicken. Or diced ham. Or crisp bacon bits. Or turkey…or crumbled blue cheese…or…or…

You get my drift. Potato salad. #summerlove