Regarding Salad

As a little kid, I categorically did not eat green things. By my 20s, I had perfected this dinner party trick: when a salad was placed in front of me, I would subtly push the leaves around on my plate with my fork, occasionally putting a crouton or a walnut or some other non-green element into my mouth, thus giving the impression of eating the salad. But I was absolutely not eating that loathsome salad.

At some point in my adulthood, it belatedly dawned on me that people need green things to stay alive. I remember the first time I made myself a salad, with no real idea what a salad should be. I put baby spinach leaves in a bowl, and placed chopped tomato on top. I ate that sad pile of vegetation, and could not picture myself ever doing so again. A friend was horrified when I described this experience, and pointed me toward salad dressing, a revelation. I persevered, and it got easier.

It turns out that repeated, positive exposure to basically any food can turn you into a fan (see this fascinating book review: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/teaching-grownups-how-to-eat). Little by little, vegetables have made their way into my diet: avocado, spinach, cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, zucchini, etc. I'm afraid I still find lettuce inedible, but perhaps someday even that will seem less nasty.

Salad remains my least favorite way to eat veggies, but the good news is that eating vegetarian does not mean just eating salad. Today it was simply a good way to use up spinach, broccoli, and roasted squash left over from previous meals. With some croutons, sunflower seeds, dried tart cherries, and vinaigrette, it was okay.

At least salad relieves me of looking for synonyms for "delicious!"