Pink of Perfection

I am not proud to tell you guys, when it comes to being sick, I am a really big baby. I expect the world to come to a grinding halt and my mother to be instantly transported to my side, bearing clean sheets and sympathetic words. Alas, the world marches on. There are meetings to attend and landlords to call back. But more than usual, when under the influence of a cold, I find myself pushing the limits of doing the bare minimum.

In my misery last night, I might have OD’d on the sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest medicine. It held me in its raptures of deep, bizarre dreams and my-eyes-weigh-a-ton until, well, not so long ago.

This is all a long way of saying: poor, poor me. I am sick, and life goes on. Dinner must be served.

I picked up the fixins for this salad at the farmer’s market. I didn’t really have a recipe at hand, just an idea, which means there were plenty of delicious additions to this salad that didn’t get snatched up, like ginger, lime, and cherry tomatoes. I settled on ruby red radishes, long spears of green scallions, and stubby, dirt-covered carrots. There would have been pea shoots, but the line was too long. So it goes.

The strangest thing about being ill is my lack of appetite. You basically strip away 70% of life’s pleasures when you can’t look forward to the next meal, am I right? I have been slurping down spicy soups that feel good on my sore throat and help clear my head, but last night, I wanted to make use of the leftover steak we had sitting in the fridge and remember what it feels like to chew again. What resulted was a salad filled with, dare I say, the life force itself: vibrant, singing, herbs; sweet spicy dressing. It was enough to make me want to turn off Arthur and join the ranks of the living again.

There are so many ingredients that could be added to this salad to make it pop even more, like fresh lime juice and ginger, for starters. If you have those things on hand, by all means, use them! But what I like about this rendering, is that’s it’s a very pantry staple friendly salad.

Easy Thai-Style Beef Salad

Cut romaine lettuce into one-inch strips and add to a bowl. Toss into the sliced and chopped vegetables that look best to you: cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, sprouts. Use a vegetable peeler to add in ribbons of carrots. Add chopped mint and cilantro to the salad bowl. Add in strips of leftover steak. Whisk together a dressing of soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, crushed red pepper, and olive oil. Dress salad and serve.

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