Winter Crunch Salad

We begin March with dreams of spring and fresh food. We may have to wait a bit for spring, but fresh food can be ours year round, thanks to generous markets and clever cooks!This week, we're offering a couple beautiful salads that are packed with flavor, color, and texture to get you through those last few weeks of winter … and the messy part of spring! We begin with a rainbow of a salad with all kinds of crunch. What's more, it features loads of easily attainable winter produce that's widely available in most markets and grocery stores. Dig in!

You can do some tweaking with this salad, but the recipe below is formulated to highlight a lot of color and texture while keeping all of the ingredients firmly in the "you can find it in winter" category. You can swap red cabbage for green if you can't find red or don't prefer it. A different variety of citrus is fine - slice any pieces that are quite large in half and understand that will make the salad wetter and it might not last as long in the refrigerator. You can swap pomegranate seeds for blueberries, but I love the jewel tone quality pomegranate seeds bring to this salad. If you slice the citrus, consider replacing the cucumber with coarsely chopped bell pepper (try yellow) to reduce the moisture content in the salad. If you have a favorite vinaigrette dressing that's already prepared, you can use that but try the homemade dressing if you get a chance. It's quick, easy, and you know exactly what you are eating when you make it yourself!

I love making this salad with the intention of having it with lunches during the week. I'll add a half a sandwich, a bit of shredded leftover chicken, or a cup of soup and call it a meal. It's so tasty, pretty, and crunchy that I just love having it around and have been known to make it several times a month just to make my work days run more smoothly. That said, it's a great accompaniment to roasted chicken, pan-seared pork chops, or just about any baked pasta. However you choose to serve it, enjoy!