The Big Yellow Bowl

My grandparents were of the generation where dinner consisted of a meat (usually pot roast), a starchy side (lots of mashed, Russet potatoes), and a somewhat overcooked vegetable. It was the era of green=Army green. They were delicious, homey meals at that point in time, but very different from today's plates of vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free options. My grandpa also always made sure there was a Jenga-like pile of white sandwich bread slices piled on a plate-as if we needed any more carbs with those potatoes-but it stood there tall and proud waiting to be spread with generous pats of butter. The meal was tasty to my 10-year-old self, as I smooshed into the welcoming and cozy banquette seat at the table, which was always accompanied by good conversation and lots of laughter.

One thing that my grandpa was known for, though, were his salads. He always always always made them in the same pale yellow Tupperware bowl (you know, the ones with the plastic lids that you "burped" to seal. Such odd marketing with that one) that must have had a diameter of about 15 inches, although relative to my size at the time, it seems like the world's biggest salad. In went the crunchy iceberg lettuce, a hill of chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, and some finely chopped Bermuda onion, all dressed with what I am guessing was Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing, if my taste buds' memory serves me correctly. This was his gig-he was the Salad Man. That yellow Tupperware traveled far and wide to family events and appeared at every table, whether celebratory or a simple weeknight. By some stroke of genius, grandchildren never shied way from these salad creations and being a Mom now, I think he worked some serious magic in quietly accomplishing this. There was no bribery needed to eat it, nor any big discussions about why we should eat it, it was just there; we saw others eating it, it was a regular part of the meal, and that was that. Pass the salad, please.

He was onto something, even then. Have a salad with your meal. Always. And always just place it on the table as a permanent fixture with each dinner. If you put that salad out, they will eat (Kevin Costner said something akin to that). And we did-all 5 granddaughters, and we've been making salads ever since.

Try it-just start putting it out on your table. Your salad doesn't have have a thousand different vegetables, or involve tons of chopping, just make sure those veggies are as green as they can be and the more colorful the better. Sorry, iceberg. You have your place with the charmingly retro Wedge Salad, but we will leave it at that.

Just some crisp fresh veggies, tossed in a bowl, just always there. Pass it around.

Then pass it around again.