DANDELION SALAD: GROWING UP ITALIAN

Growing up 100% Italian in the 1960's did not include a "healthy choice" at suppertime. Our family would "manga" nutritionally unbalanced meals like macaroni with supersized fried meatballs, Italian bread dripping in butter; and (depending on the time of year) dandelion salad (yes, the weed). Any given evening, mom served pasta wheels and beans, scrambled egg and broccoli rabe, or hot sausage with throat-constricting, eye watering, fire hot peppers. A supermarket brand apple-pie and Entenmanns doughnuts and cakes were staple desserts.

I'm sure my parents believed they were eating right. Of course, they didn't know if cows reeked of steroids or the soil drenched with pesticides, so these were never issues. Their life experience taught a next meal was never a guarantee. They ate for survival.

In my teens, Seventeen magazine touted itself as "the bible" on looking healthy (translation: Twiggy thin). All I wanted was to squeeze into size zero bell-bottoms. By my early twenties, the trend was tone your muscles through aerobic exercise. Television ads proclaimed, "No pain, no gain! Feel the burn!" So I would religiously blast Boz Scaggs or Journey - and yes, even disco - to motivate me for the painful transformation.

Then I began to reflect on how my father had drastically changed his eating habits. There was nothing like a heart attack in his early 50's to be a shout out to change his ways. Before breathing the words, "Thank you God for saving me", he silently promised to pay attention to everything he put in his mouth and to exercise daily.

"If Dad can change, so can I!" My "ah-ha" moment came when I realized that exercise was not enough to lessen my jeans size. It was only Part One of the real solution. Adopting sensible eating habits changed me from someone who reacted to trends into someone who set their own.

That's the point. Incorporating healthy eating as part of a lifestyle comes about through trial and error - and the results can be as different as your DNA from mine. Some of us cannot - or do not want to - give up chain-smoking, or a nightly ritual of downing a few beers or bottle of wine. Others read every food label to avoid transfats. And though those choices wouldn't work for me - they may work for others.

Now that I'm in my late 40's, I don't obsess about squeezing into a size zero. I start my day with steel-cut oatmeal, blueberries and a teaspoon of honey (a far cry from Italian bread toasted with globs of butter). Then I have a series of snacks every 2-3 hours, like walnuts, almonds and yogurt with fresh fruit. I have to admit though, I do love those chemicals in raw cookie-dough!

One side dish has carried over from my ethnic childhood, however. If you see a woman by the side of the highway carrying a plastic bag and bent over poking the ground with a paring knife, don't be surprised. That will be me searching for young tender dandelion leaves for my next saladalthough finding any is getting more difficult thank you (not) to chemical weed killers.

You know, as I reminisce, I can almost see my dad smiling and shaking his head, saying: "Remember, Rosemarie - everything in moderation, everything in moderation."

DANDELION SALAD

2 cups freshly washed/dried dandelion leaves
Radishes
1 Scallion
10 Black Olives (no pits)
Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar to taste
Toss with salt and pepper
Serve Immediately

Learn more about this author, Rose Maire.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Salad recipes?
We want to hear your view. Write now!