Growing up in Colorado during the mid-20th century, we ate iceberg lettuce. That's the kind most readily available at the Snow White Grocery Store in my small town, and that's what all the restaurants served.

When my mother would tell us what she planned to make for supper it would be something like: 'hamburgers on the plate and a nice green salad,' meaning no bread with the burgers and iceberg lettuce with oil and vinegar dressing.

In the mid-60's my mother discovered the "Blueberry Hill Cookbook" by Elsie Masterson, and this tossed salad recipe was her favorite for the annual party up here in the mountains. It seemed so exotic and special at the time, because we had to go to the big supermarket in the next town to find the romaine, but is tame by today's standards. It's very wordy, but to someone like me who reads cookbooks like novels, even if I'm not going to make the exact recipe, I welcome the ideas.

Tossed Green Salad Blueberry Hill

1 medium head romaine
Other greens as available:
iceberg lettuce, Boston lettuce, chicory, escarole, watercress, bibb lettuce, spinach leaves (equivalent to 1 head iceberg lettuce)
1/2 clove garlic
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 small white onion
1 orange
Small bunch (about 1/2 cup) seedless white grapes
4 or 5 crisp radishes
2 tablespoons crumbled Roquefort or Bleu cheese
1/2 avocado
1 small can anchovies, preferably rolled with capers
Dressing:
4 tablespoons pure olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons wine vinegar

About an hour before you plan to serve the salad, carefully tear into fairly large pieces the romaine and a variety of other greens, previously washed and drained. Choose a salad bowl large enough so that the salad will only fill it 2/3s full. Rub the bowl with the 1/2 clove garlic, and discard the garlic. Place greens in the bowl. If they seem to be still wet, lay some paper towels under them. Be sure to take them out before tossing the salad. Place 3 thicknesses of waxed paper on top of the greens. Place the rest of the ingredients on top of the waxed paper.

Cut the tomatoes into small segments. Cut the cucumber (peeled if store-bought, unpeeled if garden fresh) into pieces about the same size as the pieces of tomato. Peel and cut the onion into rings. Peel the orange, remove the membranes, and cut it into segments. Separate and wash the grapes. Wash the radishes, and slice them into thin rounds. Cut the half avocado into pieces about the same size as the tomato and cucumber. Place all of these on the waxed paper over the greens; add crumbled cheese and the anchovies, oil and all. Cover the salad bowl with waxed paper and keep it cold in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

At the moment you are ready to toss the salad, remove waxed paper from the top of the bowl, and the paper over the greens, and paper towels from the bottom. Toss all ingredients together lightly. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss until each leaf is coated with oil. Sprinkle the salad, covering it quite thoroughly, with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss the salad. Taste it. Add more seasoning if needed. Using a large salad spoon, pour 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce into the bowl of the spoon, and fill the spoon the rest of the way with wine vinegar (about 1 1/2 tablespoons). Pour this over the salad and rinse out the spoon with about 3 tablespoons olive oil. Toss the salad lightly and taste it again. Add more garlic powder if needed. If not tart enough, add more wine vinegar; if too tart, add more olive oil.

By the way, I looked at a comparison of the nutrient value of romaine versus iceberg lettuce, just so you know.

Iceberg Lettuce Nutrition by Weight


100 grams of:
Romaine Iceberg
Water 94.6 g 95.6 g
Fiber 2.1 g 1.2 g
Protein 1.2 g 0.9 g
Fat 0.3 g 0.1 g
Calories 17 14
Calcium 33.0 mg 18 mg
Zinc .2 mg 0.2 mg
Iron 1.0 mg 0.4 mg
Sodium 8.0 mg 10 mg
Potassium 247 mg 141 mg
Vitamin A 8710 IU 502 IU
Vitamin C 24 mg 2.8 mg
Omega 3
Fatty Acids 0.1 g 0.1 g
Niacin (B3) .3 mg 0.1 mg