The Summer of Salads

I tend to eat salads for lunch or dinner a lot, especially in warmer weather.  Most of the salads I eat are some form of protein thrown on a bowl of spring mix, plus dressing--possibly an extra veggie or two if I find a carrot or celery in the fridge to chop up.

Pretty often, it's just a can of tuna, drained (I put it in the fridge first to chill) over spring mix, plus balsamic dressing.  If I'm lucky, I have hard-boiled eggs or olives in the fridge.  Yummy.

Poor Girl's Nicoise, kinda.

Over at Table for One not too long ago, Solitary Diner made the Thai Steak Salad from Cooking Light, and she made it look so easy (not to mention tasty) that I had to try making one of the others from the issue.  I present to you. . .

. . . Farro, Green Bean, and Fennel Salad with Tuna.

 Recipe here.

It pretty much took the time they said it was going to, and it did turn out tasting pretty good.  I did have trouble finding non-precooked farro, and as usually happens with rice, it boiled over while it was cooking.  (My stove's burners retain heat too long, and they won't cool to simmer fast enough. I forget that I have to switch to the opposite burner set to the right temp.)  I also wound up making the whole box because it was too hard to divide.  The other half is in the freezer for future salads, I guess!

Also, I did not find oil-cured olives as listed in the ingredients, so I just used kalamatas.  I like those.  It made for a nice, light-tasting salad overall. I did not taste the dijon mustard in the dressing, so my best guess is that it just is there to cut the fat in the dressing.  I did use the recommended brand of tuna, and it is very mild.  My one complaint about the tuna is that the cans had unusual rims that did not work well with my can strainer.  Olive oil everywhere.

Would I make this salad again?  Definitely.  I even could sub in other veggies or protein with this base and dressing.

But maybe not until I'm done eating the leftovers.