My friend Nichole and her family moved away last summer, and it has been sad for our family living without the daily interaction from our sweet friends. While we miss them terribly for so many more important reasons – if I can be selfish for a minute, I must say the lack of interesting salads in my life has definitely left a noticeable hole. I don’t know how she does it, but Nichole can make a salad out of almost anything. At every party, she was the go-to person for salads. Fruits, veggies, nuts, cheeses – she has a million combos, and each has its own perfect dressing that she just whipped up. I didn’t even realize how much I loved salads until she came into my life. Since I am nowhere near that creative on my own in the salad department, I’ve been forced to fend for myself (although I did have to send an emergency text to Nichole a while back when I was out of ideas, craving one of her perfect concoctions and desperate for salad inspiration). While I’ll never make a salad quite like my friend, I’m trying and have added a few yummy choices to the mix.

One of my favorite restaurants in the Seattle area is Purple Cafe & Wine Bar. With several locations, it is always a great place for tasty food, wine flights and atmosphere. I’m sure all the food is delicious, but I have a very hard time moving past their amazing chopped salad. Finely chopped lettuces, onion, peppers, avocado, garbanzo beans and pancetta make this the perfect salad you can eat as a meal. I found myself thinking about the salad so often that I’ve adapted my own version – so simple and easy to make with just a few ingredients that I usually already have in my fridge. I’m sure Nichole would have the perfect balsamic dressing recipe to make this even more delightful, but I’ve found that this girl can be happy with a little Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette to get it close enough. A great salad for warmer days!

Chopped Salad

butter and romaine lettuces
red onion
red pepper
avocado
bacon – crisp
feta cheese – crumbled
garbanzo beans

Finely chop lettuces, onion, pepper, avocado and bacon. Mix together with feta cheese and garbanzo beans. Toss with a balsamic vinaigrette and enjoy.