Salads! Salads! Salads!

Well here in Portland it's STILL not quite summer (ugh, don't even get me started); but the temp has been in the low 60s a few times. Since summer officially starts next week, I've been doing a "sun dance" of sorts by making lots of different types of salad for dinner. Here are a few:

Ol' Betty:
-greens
-cucumber, peeled & chopped
-tomato, chopped
-green onions, chopped fairly small
-avocado, peeled/seeded/chopped
-optional: chopped bell peppers, peas, kidney beans
Do I have to even add those instructions of "peel, seed, chop, etc"? From here on out, just assume all cucumbers will be peeled, all avos will be seeded, and so on...especially since no one eats avo skins :-). Also, "greens" can be whatever you want or have on hand - iceberg, spinach, red leaf - it all works.
Ol' Betty earned its name because you can throw whatever veggies you have on hand in there. It's the good ol' standby.

Greek:
-cucumber
-tomato
-red onion
-feta
-calamata olives, or black
-small amount of dried oregano, or the Greek seasoning mix
-dressing: mix equal parts sour cream and ranch, and shake in a healthy amount of rice wine vinegar OR lemon juice for tang.

Mexi-licious:
-greens
-tomatoes
-avocado
-green onions
-green and/or red bell pepper
-cheese
-ground turkey, chicken, pork, or beef
-black or kidney beans
-smashed tortilla chips
-salsa

Mango-tastic:
-greens
-avocado
-mango
-small amount of finely chopped red onion (optional)
-cilantro
-black beans
-lime juice
-optional: bell peppers, green onions

Portland Common:
-Romaine or red leaf lettuce
-thinly sliced pear
-gorgonzola
-candied, or plain, walnuts
-balsamic vinaigrette
This one can be altered with apple or cranberries for the fruit, almonds or pecans for the nut, and blue cheese instead of gorgonzola. You will find a variation of this salad in nearly every Portland-based restaurant.