53 msfocusmagazine.org Kitchen Sink Salad – Jade Kauffman This recipe was named by my son, because the only thing he was sure we weren't going to put in it was the kitchen sink. Instructions: Get out as many big plates as you have people eating. Put a loaf of garlic bread in the oven. Open your refrigerator. Find and assemble: • All kinds of lettuce and leafy greens • All kinds of meat (MS Focus note: beans, tempeh, or tofu work too!) • All kinds of cheese (MS Focus note: avocado or nuts can provide healthy fats) • All kinds of veggies • Fruit to line the outside of the plate and be munched while you have salad, so apple slices, or strawberries cut so they don't just roll off … you get the idea. • And anything hanging out that sounds good, like water chestnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, anything yummy. Divide it among the plates you got out, and hand everyone their favorite (preferably low-fat or fat-free) salad dressing. And please don't forget the loaf of garlic bread in the oven! Jade’s Bonus Hacks • In the area of helpful hints; summer is not my friend and I am always adding ice to drinks. This works for everything but carbonated drinks: make ice cubes of the drinks you often have. Then, when you need to cool your drink, you're not diluting it. Do take care to store your ice cubes in clearly marked bags so you're not cooling your iced tea with orange juice cubes. It can happen! • When you have the energy to cook, the important part is cooking enough for the freezer so you don't have to cook every night, and that means preserving what you cook. I use a GameSaver from the Food Saver line.