A Green Picnic Choice

As most of you are aware, the more local and organic your foods are the greener they are. These days, just about everyone is jumping on the vegetarian or flexitarian bandwagon. Personal finance and budgeting pros talk about the green effect on your wallet (saving money) when you take meat off the menu once or twice a week. Environmentalists, such as those over at vegfamily.com (as seen here), bring out the energy savings of a reduced meat diet. For the past several generations in my family we’ve chosen to be vegetarian for the health benefits and I’ve even been known to dip my toe in the vegan waters. In my opinion, these hot summer days are a great excuse to keep the oven (and outdoor grill) turned off. Here is one of my favorite summer salad recipes that is perfect for your next picnic or summer potluck.

7 Layer Salad*

Served in a large see-through bowl (I use a punch bowl) and layered as follows:

1 head of lettuce (or 2 1/2 romaine hearts) chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 large bag of frozen peas

2 cans of sliced chestnuts

4-5 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 small bunch of chopped green onions

Spread a large jar of mayonnaise on top (like frosting)

And finally, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the top

You need to wait a couple of hours before eating for the peas to defrost. They keep the mayo cold so you don't need to worry about it staying out. As the peas defrost and people dig into the salad, the mayo thins out, mixes with the egg yolks, and makes an amazing dressing. I often boil the eggs and chop up everything except the lettuce the night before to speed up the assembly process.

*The picture is of the vegan version. Just substitute chopped green bell pepper for the egg layer, follow with a layer of quartered /halved grape tomatoes, use vegan mayo, and sprinkle the green onions on top instead of cheese.