So when my little Friend Lynn and I go mountain biking, she talks non stop… For an hour and a half!! She talks because I can’t. Seriously I’m huffing and puffing and she’s gabbing on and on as if we were sitting down having a cup of coffee. It really pisses me off but during these rides she has to fill the time somehow and that often means sharing her cooking secrets. During our last ride, when I was demoing the 29-ER, she was raving about this new salad she just made that is healthy, light and filling. Healthy, light and filling are key words for me. So I literally tried to puff more softly to make sure I heard every word! And since I risked passing out to get this recipe, I feel entitled to share it with all of you! And BTW, I’m not a huge fan of salads at Thanksgiving dinner, but this one might change my mind!!

Dressing:
Equal parts fresh lemon juice and olive oil (I used 3/4 cup each) and 3 crushed garlic cloves. THAT’S IT!!

Salad Mixins’:
Arugula
TOASTED walnut pieces
Dried cranberries
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Roasted butternut squash pieces (I got the bag of butternut squash pieces from Trader Joes. Cook them with olive oil, plenty of crushed garlic, salt and pepper at 425 for about 30 minutes)

Mix everything together and then add your desired amount of salad dressing.  I have lots of dressing left over, which is a good thing since I’m going to make this salad again next week.

I recommend adding the butternut squash to the salad fresh out of the oven. The hot squash does something to all the other ingredients that makes them all blend together.

Lynn and I are going riding again tomorrow.  I’ll see what I can get out of her!!