Whatcha got?

I don't know who said it first, but here's how it goes.

"What should we have for dinner?"

"How about a stew?"

"Well, what are you going to put in the stew?"

"Well, whatcha got?"

Thus coining the title of Whatchagot stew. Or, in today's case, Whatchagot salad.

I joined my dear boyfriend for dinner at a German restaurant in SF on Friday. After the framboise lembic (like drinking a jam sandwich!), my favorite dish of the evening was a mixed salad: lettuce topped with potatoes, pickled cabbage, carrots, and beets all in their independent sections. You could eat each vegetable independently or mix and match.

Today's lunch salad (just consumed with a bowl of yogurt and a tasty navel orange) was formed along the same lines. I started by shredding the last of my CSA butter lettuce, giving it a drizzle of sesame oil. Atop that I arranged a sliced white radish, a scoop of sauerkraut, and a bit of ginger carrot. The sour fermented cabbage and carrots melded excellently with the sweet lettuce and the radish. I loved this whatchagot salad all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

Having crocks of fermented veggies in my fridge is an excellent way, I've discovered, to get more variety of vegetables in my day. They have a very addictive flavor. Makes me want to get some beets asap and start some of those pickling, too, for an extra color and flavor option next time.

After a busy week with too many other activities and no formal exercise, my body was totally craving movement! By Friday I was feeling my muscles going completely flaccid, while fat just started splurging in new colonies. Thankfully Saturday evening was full of dance and Sunday afternoon full of hiking. Three evenings this week I must set aside my own activities in order to drive north and meet with some ladies for music rehearsal, but Tuesday and Thursday I'm going to make a point of hitting the trail and hitting it hard. (Though not literally, I hope. I'm still finishing up healing from the last time that happened.) My boyfriend has even been bit by the physical activity bug: he agreed that fresh air and exercise were better than sitting indoors playing video games, for the purpose of improving mood and general disposition.