Confession: the first time I made salad in a jar it turned out kinda gross. I’m not always great at reading a recipe the whole way through before I start making something. I ended up putting the dressing right on top of the greens, which resulted in a gross concoction of too much dressing on the salad and not enough everywhere else. To avoid my mistakes I’m giving five tips for making salad in a jar.
1.Have fun. No, seriously. In my family pretty much everyone loves to cook in some form (including my cousin Heather, who always has some great recipes to share here on Twin Dragonfly Designs!) The thing we do best when it comes to food is that we make it an event. We love to share our food by having potlucks, or even just sharing the moment by getting our kids to help with little tasks. (Depending on their age kids are totally capable of helping out by measuring ingredients, chopping vegetables, or ripping up lettuce or other greens).
2.Follow the directions (see my confession, above). Lots of times salad in a jar won’t have an exact “recipe” to follow so here is a good rule of thumb: start off with your”heavier ingredients” (e.g. pasta, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, etc.) Then add things like carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms. The last thing you’ll add are your greens!
3.Pick a jar that’s a little bigger than you think you’ll need. This is especially helpful if you’re new to making salad in a jar. Nothing’s worse than having to take everything out of the jar halfway through because you just realized the jar is way too small.Let’s be honest, no one cares if your salad in a jar doesn’t look as fancy as the pictures you see in magazines or on the Internet. They’ll be impressed because even saying “I brought salad in a jar” to any event just sounds plain cool.
4.Ingredient substitutions are fine. Does the recipe call for raisins and you can’t stand them? Cool, pick another dried fruit you like. Or just skip it. The recipe calls for arugula but you can’t stand it? Try spinach instead. Just remember to write down any substitutions you made.
5.You should eat your salad in a jar within a week. You can do a quick Internet search, but I am going to save you the time. Salad in a jar keeps for about 5-7 days in the fridge. This is assuming you’ve used fresh ingredients.
Melissa
P.S. Thanks so much for sticking with my these past four weeks! It has been super fun to guest blog here on Twin Dragonfly. Please be sure to check out my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mjamesoncomm/
