Salad for days!

This is hands down, my current favorite salad (for the past year) that is inspired by a Kale salad from a cafe near my house. Super easy to make-- the most work you'll do is from the chopping! Here's the recipe:

For greens, use kale or spinach. What I like about kale is that it keeps really well since it's so crunchy. Even if you have this salad for several days, it won't wilt.

Chop all your veggies. I basically just choose whatever I have on hand but the ones I always use are bell peppers (a variety of colors makes your salad pretty), onions (more on that later), and beets. I love the crispness of beets and never really ate them before. So good!

I'll also chop up a fruit for sweetness like asian pear, nectarine, or apple. Any of these will do. Just whatever you have.

To add flavor, I caramelize onions. OK, caramelized onions are delicious and I will basically put them in anything I can. The added benefit of having them in the salad is that it basically flavors the salad so much that you don't even need dressing!

Lastly, I top off with sunflower seeds. You can add grated cheese if you want, but I don't think you can actually taste it so it's not worth it to me. If you really want dressing, just mix up your own with a bit of olive oil and vinegar of your choice and a bit of honey. Mix well and dress your colorful, refreshing salad!

If you want more salad inspiration, check out the NYT 101 salads list: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=0