Butter Lettuce Salad

So  I’ve figured out that if I put fruit on a salad, I greatly increase my chances of having certain members of the family actually eat it. We sure have some picky people in this family.

I also have a picky dog, but fruit is definitely not the answer for her.

As a puppy, she was on a puppy formula…until she decided she didn’t like it and staged a hunger strike. After having had a decidedly unfinicky cat for the previous 19 years (if it was fish formula, he LOVED it), I did what any first time parent does…I panicked, and began a world-wide search for something that would appeal to HRH (Her Royal Highness.  It’s how she prefers to be called).

We finally settled on a fish formula, after learning that she has food allergies and tummy issues, which was great…until she didn’t like that anymore either. So I switched her to a raw diet, which she absolutely loved…until about a month ago.

All of a sudden, I would put her dinner down and she would approach it like Marie Antoinette on her way to the guillotine.  If she decided to risk it, she might, just might, deign to take the tiniest nibble that she could, roll it around in her mouth to suck off any juice or flavor, then spit it out all over the floor, as if to say, “I clearly ordered the Pouilly-Fuisse and you have insulted me by  giving me Two-Buck Chuck.  Peasants!  Off with your heads!”

I tried topping it with greens, veggies, broth, even some blueberries, all to no avail.  Nothing would induce her to eat her food.

In total desperation, I threw myself on the mercy of the clerk at the local pet store, and she recommended a stew topper made of the same formula as her food.  So now, by pulverizing her raw food into dust, adding some water to re-hydrate it and mixing in a few spoonfuls of stew, we have found a menu that is acceptable to the queen.

But the other morning, I made what could have been a fatal error and put her off her new formula forever.

I was racing around the kitchen getting breakfast for her, breakfast for me (oatmeal with cacao powder and protein powder), and breakfast for Tim (yogurt and granola). I had the bowls all on the counter, and quickly grabbed some berries to put on top of my oatmeal…….and dumped them all over the HRH’s breakfast instead, because apparently, our two meals looked identical.

Horrified, I frantically tried to scrape the berries off, hoping I hadn’t made a fatal error which would result in a one-way ticket to the dungeon.  She is not the most tolerant of  tyrants.

Fortunately, she was either very hungry that morning, or in a generally forgiving mood, because she decided to eat her breakfast and let me eat mine (minus the stew-coated berries).

Ingredients:

• 1 head of butter lettuce
• 3-4 green onions
• 2 oranges
• 4 medium radishes
• 1/4 cup grated or shredded jicama
• marcona almonds

Dressing:

• 3 Tablespoons of orange juice
• 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon agave or honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the lettuce, then rip it into bite-sized pieces.  Put it either into a large bowl for family style or into individual bowls (I made 4 pretty good sized appetizer salads)
2. Slice the green onions, white and light green parts only. Cut the radishes in half and slice thinly. Grate the Jicama, and cut the rind off of the oranges, then cut out the individual segments and cut them into thirds. You can chop the almonds if you think the whole ones are too big.
3. Sprinkle the onions, radishes and oranges over the lettuce.  Sprinkle with the jicama and almonds.
4. Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine.  Pour over salads right before serving.

Enjoy!