Ethan's Ribbon Salad

My son has always been pretty picky about what foods he will eat, but I've been wearing him down over the last year or so, trying to get him to try new things by preparing them in different ways. I made a simple salad using my peanut dressing and was happy to find that he would tolerate eating more than just a bite, so I've added it to my regular recipe rotation. The trick is, I think, in shredding the lettuce. It turns it into little green ribbons that have a fun texture and coat well using very little dressing.

Ethan's Ribbon Salad

1 head romaine lettuce (or two romaine hearts)
2 green onions, sliced thin
1/4 c. sliced almonds
2 tsp. flax seeds
1-2 T. Tangy Peanut Dressing (to taste)

Wash the romaine and shake off as much excess water as you can. Blot leaves dry with a clean towel and stack on a cutting board, holding the leaves together in a tight bundle, and slice thinly across. (I like my threads to be about as wide as a linguine noodle, maybe a little smaller... I just eyeball it!) Toss in a medium-large bowl with the green onion. You can refrigerate the salad here, or let it sit for a while to let the onion flavor to come out a bit. When you are ready to serve the salad, top with almonds, flax seeds, and dressing and toss till coated. I use the minimum amount of dressing on this salad, as it's pretty potent and I don't like the other flavors in the salad to be overwhelmed.

You can also add shredded carrot, thinly sliced celery, or peeled and seeded cucumber chunks to your salad and it will be fabulous.

Tangy Peanut Sauce & Dressing

This is a great all-purpose sauce to have on hand. Just store it in a reused peanut butter jar like I do, and thin it with water or oil depending on how you use it. I love it on noodles and salads :)

Tangy Peanut Sauce & Dressing

2/3 c. smooth, unsweetened peanut butter (I use Maranatha brand)
1/3 c. seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 c. soy sauce
2 T. olive oil
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. maple or cane syrup
pinch red pepper

Whisk ingredients till smooth and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.