Avocado Orange Salad

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Whatโ€™s the weirdest thing youโ€™ve had for dinner?

Tonight I had:

Mung beans tossed in butter, salt, and pepper.  Mung beans.  Yeaโ€ฆ not ideal.

Frozen corn, made unfrozen in boiling waterโ€ฆ tossed with butter, salt, and pepper.

A flour tortillaโ€ฆ while standing over my desk, looking glossy-eyed at my massive to-do list.

A sprig of parsley.  I dunno.  Because it was green and there on the counter.

Water from my water bottleโ€ฆ followed by a hearty slug of bourbon, poured over tiny ice cubes.

โ€ฆ Iโ€™m also really bad at re-filling the ice tray.  Future husband, Iโ€™m sorry.  I love you.  I hope you hate ice.

And, for dessert, a frozen chocolate cupcake.  Iโ€™m about 7 seconds away from going to grab another cupcake from the freezer.  Believe that.

This is what I eat when left to my own devices.  Clearly, I should not be left alone.  Iโ€™m not sure how much longer I can survive like thisโ€ฆ Iโ€™m a complete weirdo.  Someone hold my hand and make me cook you dinnerโ€ฆ thatโ€™s the only way I eat like a regular person.

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These avocados?  See how nicely sliced they are?  This is the sign that Iโ€™m cooking for others, and not just standing in my kitchen eating tortillas.

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I like fruit in my salad.  I especially like citrus.  I super especially like citrus if itโ€™s sliced all fancylike.

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Segmented.  Totally classy, right?

Oranges are easy to segment.  Once the peel is stripped, you just have to slice in between the natural orange segment markers/ skin bits/ pith marksโ€ฆ what the word Iโ€™m looking for?

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I made dressing too!

The dressing is inspired by my favorite mason jar/ good olive oil/ fresh cracked pepper/ and Tracyโ€™s mom.

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Salad dressing.  Shaken.  Itโ€™s cathartic.   Cats pay no attention.

But wait!  Are my hands starting to look suspiciously 30 years old?  Donโ€™t answer that.  (Yeaโ€ฆ they kinda are) ((Donโ€™t agree with thatโ€ฆ thanks)).

This salad is simple, bright, and completely adaptable.  Try grapefruit instead of orange segments.  Peaches?  Yes.  Strawberries?  Ok!

Arugula instead of Romaine?  Do that?  Did you say spinach?  I like the way you think.

Itโ€™s salad.  No biggie.  Make it your ownโ€ฆ then serve it to others.

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Iโ€™d also like to distract you with the crazy delicious bread I made to go along with this salad.  It has strawberries on it, and I canโ€™t wait to tell you about it on Wednesday.

Look at this spread!  Wine and bourbon and bread and such.

Avocado Orange Salad

serves 4 to 6 people

inspired by Shutterbean and yummy salady things

Print this Recipe!

For the Salad:

1 large head of Romaine lettuce

1 Navel orange, segmented

2 ripe avocados, sliced

a handful of fresh, chopped flat leaf parsley is also nice

For the Dressing:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 small garlic clove, finely minced

2 teaspoons honey

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 egg yolk (if you donโ€™t want to use a raw egg, 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt is great!)

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

To prepare the salad:

Coarsely dice and rinse the Romaine lettuce.  Place in a large platter.  Segment the orange by first slicing off about 1/2-inch of the bottom and top.  Slice down the sides of the orange, cutting through all of the pith to reveal the orange flesh.  At an angle, slice in between the natural orange segments.  A clean orange slice should pop out.  Easy!  Halve and slice or dice the avocado.  Sprinkle oranges segments and avocado slices over the lettuce.

To prepare the dressing:

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil, salt, and pepper in a jar with a sealing lid.  Tighten the lid and give the ingredients a good shake.  Remove the lid and add the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Replace the lid and shake until dressing is well blended and emulsified.  Drizzle over salad.  Dressing will last, sealed in the refrigerator, for 3 or 4 days.

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I Made This

Questions

128 Responses

  1. i wanted something super summery, super light and refreshing, and super fast for dinner .. so i whipped this together and it was delish!! avocados and oranges are two of my favs. love love loveee the dressing. oh, and i also added a handful of pine nuts to add a tiny crunch. very nom :)

  2. We had the salad last night with warm bread and grilled chicken and it was brilliant! Even though it meant a week long wait for the silly avocados to ripen. oO But hey, it made it all the better to finally prepare it after all the anticipation. I love the dressing.
    I used natural yogurt instead of the egg and it worked out lovely and smooth with a bit of a crunch from radishes I had growing in the garden and baby gem lettuce.

  3. I looked at this and thought, โ€˜Oh that would be so nice with rocket! Whatโ€™s arugula?โ€™ Thanks google for explaining theyโ€™re different names for the same thing. Yum!

  4. Take it from a slightly older woman living in the South (think lots of sun). Sunscreen on your hands โ€” every day. Also on your upper chest, neck. Those are the two places that show your age the first.

  5. Ah, darling Joyโ€ฆthose are NOT 30 year old handsโ€ฆthey are busy hands! Only hands that do nothing all day remain teen-like into adulthood. Hands that love, and work, and play hard? They are sturdy, capable, wonderful, WARM hands! :)

    (From the 40 + year old who secretly is afraid her hands might be beginning
    to look like 45 year old handsโ€ฆ )

  6. Iโ€™ve always called the things between the the segments โ€˜membranesโ€™. The strawberry bread looks fabulous and I canโ€™t wait to try it!

  7. Oh, and the fancy pants word for cutting oranges like that is โ€œsupremesโ€. It makes me think of the girl group The Supremes, which reminds me of Dreamgirls, and how they had those orange dresses, which makes me think of the beautiful little orange segments. Or supremes.

  8. Lunch was romaine with mango chunks and blackberries, red wine vinegar and poppy seeds. Yesterday was with apples, toasted slivered almonds and sesame seeds, vinegar, and a few flecks of red pepper. I love summer :).

  9. I had the same 30-year-old-hands revelation. Its depressing. Iโ€™m going to make this salad to help myself get over this fact.

  10. Made the salad last night to accompany husbands birthday dinner. WOW!! What a home run! Thanks so much for this recipe!

  11. okay woman that salad was delicious. that vinigarette? it makes me want to punch my mother (okay i may or may not be listening to your podcast right. now. and you just said that) so delicious. keep up the good work.

  12. This sounds great! I recently got some Himalayan pink salt and organic peppercorns from Sustainable Sourcing and Iโ€™ll have to try them out in this recipe. Oh, and I feel much better that Iโ€m not the only one who has been known to eat strange things to dinner!

  13. omg just last night i decided to make a salad of romaine, avocado, and grapefruit for my familyโ€ฆ great minds think alikeโ€ฆ

  14. Yea=yay, without the accompanying exclamation of excitement, or yes, as in a bunch old men sitting around a committee table voting on non-essential clauses.

    Yeah= yah, โ€œahโ€ as in the beginning of the word apple. Usually a โ€œfillerโ€ word at the beginning or end of a sentence, itโ€™s actually an informal variant of โ€œyes.โ€

    Incidentally, yay is most commonly used as a variant for โ€œyeaโ€ but has not been accepted as a formal word . . . yet; itโ€™s only slang.

    I donโ€™t mean that to be bitchy . . . I find it so commonly mistaken I try to inform people. I went around for years saying and writing a similar pair of words incorrectly and no one told me; I was mortified when I learned I had been using them wrong over and over.

  15. Joy, Joy, Joy,

    Your hands are beautiful; creating beautiful works of art via your gift with both food and communication. I canโ€™t stop grinning when I read your blogs BUTโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆ.I have a question for you.

    How is the letter writing campaign coming along? Able to fit it into the daily grind? Iโ€™m pullinโ€™ for ya girlfriend.

    p.s. As for the hands (if youโ€™re really worried) lotion, lotion, lotion my grandmother would always say. Ohโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆ. and sunblock.

      1. Well then goshdarn Iโ€™m sure lookinโ€™ forward to mine. I appreciate that you took the time out to answer my question Miss Joy. Thank you muchly. (big โ€˜ole
        grin on my face)

  16. I am the same way with eating! With a strange working schedule sometimes I will realize that I will have gone 3 or 4 days without a proper meal. Yikes!

    โ€ฆthe salad looks so good! Maybe I will get motivated to get to the store and make that tomorrow. Yum!

  17. Iโ€™m currently packing everything I own to put it in storage in Melbourne, while Iโ€™m off having a fabulous time in Barcelonaโ€ฆ.which means itโ€™s official Clean Out The Freezer Before Moving timeโ€ฆ.which means I just had half a packet of edamame and three pear and ginger muffins for lunch. All of it seasoned with dust and memories!
    (And the only way Iโ€™ll eat citrus fruit is if itโ€™s segmented โ€“ cos Iโ€™m a Lady.)
    ..n..**

  18. Often if Iโ€™m left to my own devices Iโ€™ll eat something like one slice of tomato, or a handful of marshmallows for dinner. Iโ€™m lazy like that. But we had apple and pear crumble for dinner the other night, which is fairly unusual. Heck yes!

  19. I know quite a few dudes that would be willing overlook ice cube tray neglect in a gal that loves bourbon. Just sayinโ€™.
    Anyhow, I think when you cut the orange up fancy like that itโ€™s called โ€œsupremingโ€, no? Not that Iโ€™ve ever supremed an orange, actually.

  20. I eat weird things more often than not. My husband has learned to roll with it. :) This salad looks delicious- love avocados and citrus!

  21. You inspired my dinner tonight! โ€˜Twas delicious. I did something that turned out tasty. Because I didnโ€™t have all of the ingredients for the dressing and because I was feeling a little wild , I took a scoop (to be interpreted however you like )of hummus and mixed it with two scoops of salsa and voila salsa-humm dressing!

    :) Happy day to you.

    1. sufficient arch support during orange segmenting sessions is very important! ps- mason jars RULE

  22. It was all Joy all day at our house. Banana bread, shrimp and grits and this salad. This was my favorite! Tastes like Summer! I think I gained 10 lbs. Thanks for the great recipes and inspiring me to return to the kitchen. With our not so newborn it has been many months of Ramen and corn dogs but not todayโ€ฆ

  23. Simple. Yummy. Really like the ingredient list for the dressing and will definitely have to try it in the hopes that THIS time I wonโ€™t create a salad fail!
    Thanks always for being witty and bringing delicious things to my computer screen.

  24. I have been living on bars lately-and not the good kind. My life can currently be summed up as a giant Kashi bar mixed with the Trader Joeโ€™s low fat blueberry cereal barsโ€ฆI also only cook nicely for companyโ€ฆ.

  25. Always looking for new salads to incorporate avocadoโ€ฆ I canโ€™t get enough of it! This is beautiful. And sometimes I stand in the kitchen with the fridge door open eating tortillas until I figure out whatโ€™s for dinner. Itโ€™s brain food I tell ya.

  26. I do the random, multi-course meals more often than Iโ€™d like to admit, but I think it makes life interesting! It also makes me appreciate โ€œrealโ€ meals that much more!

    I love the looks of that salad- bright, fresh, summery, and no need to turn on the oven or stove to make it! Perfect lazy summer evening real meal! WIN! =)

  27. I canโ€™t wait to hear about that crazy delicious looking bread. Strawberries? num, num!!! Everything looks so refreshing, summery and tasty! And no worries, Iโ€™m similar to you in that I forget to make regular meals sometimesโ€ฆ.if itโ€™s just me Iโ€™m probably either munching on popcorn or nachos

  28. when i am alone- cereal, cold milk, totally barefoot and slinky pajamas and a awfully short skirt that is too.. i hate to say it but โ€˜sluttyโ€™ in a way to wear outside. truth.

    guests? oh my oh my. bring on the avocado and fancy pasta dishes and uh sweet potato friesโ€ฆ just ignore the gaping bowl of kettle corn in the living room. ignore it.

    by the way, bacherlorette is SOO getting on my nerves. and i dance to kesha and gaga when iโ€™m alone. iโ€™m so random. :Ol

  29. I had frozen yogurt for dinner last night. And pancakes for lunch. But that is what being a single girl is all about! You can eat whatever you want whenever you want. Holla sister!

  30. Avocados are miracle fruits (vegetables??) I typically like them hidden in things but Iโ€™ve only eaten them raw once. Perhaps itโ€™s time to try again?

  31. craziness! just made a baby spinach & cherry salad with a maple balsamic vinaigrette, tis the salad season- totally agree with you on the fruit in the salad, its a must!

  32. I have to say that your hands rock! Well usedโ€ฆfor making all sorts of wonderful stuff. If you didnโ€™t have those handsโ€ฆwellโ€ฆyouโ€™d have no handsโ€ฆand that might be weird โ€“ and make it quite difficult to bake.

  33. I love any salad that involves avocados. And seriously cannot wait for that bread post! I need recipes for real, grown up meals that suck me into making them because my husband travels 50% of the year (seriously, yuck) and I have a tortilla eating habit when Iโ€™m alone too. Maybe you should come over for dinner?

  34. hahaha โ€œMung beans tossed in butter, salt, and pepper. Mung beans. Yeaโ€ฆ not idealโ€œ I have chickpeas tossed in coconut oil and salt at least once a week. Hits the spot, as weird as it may be.

  35. Just wanted to say I love your blog, and what you say about โ€œwhat I eat when left to my own devices. Clearly, I should not be left alone.โ€ I can totally relate! And love it!!! Love your recipes!!! :)

  36. I have the same affliction. When my fiance is away I eat popcorn or cereal or green beans or corn for dinner. Or occasionally I decide to behave like a normalish human being and make a BLT on an english muffin or homemade pizza. The pizza only happened because I wonโ€™t be home with the fiance gets home and I wanted to do something nice so it is sitting in the fridge waiting to be re-heated. Otherwise, Iโ€™m kind of a mess!

    Find a future husband who also likes to cook and youโ€™re golden! Thatโ€™s one of my favorite things about my fianceโ€ฆ he cooks, he cleans, he feeds the dog. <3

  37. i just moved to michigan last weekโ€ฆ avocados and california are so, so far away now! i need this saladโ€ฆand the wine and bourbon too, for good measure. also, segmented citrus is totes classy.

  38. last night i had canned chickpeas, roasted asparagus, and a glass of wine. but your dinner for others looks lovely (and i hope that by others you mean cute boys. or at least one cute boy).

    also now iโ€™m staring at my hands and wondering if they look 30โ€ฆ

  39. I eat weird stuff for dinner all the time (itโ€™s a byproduct of living alone)

    This salad looks wonderful. I have some leftover citrus shrimp that would be lovely with it!!!

    Tonight, salad and shrimpโ€ฆ

  40. Oooh! I canโ€™t wait for the bread recipe so I can have this meal! the bread looks like a twist on Shutterbeanโ€™s Strawberry Bruschetta which is completely awesome too! And this avocado salad looks amazing, Iโ€™ve been craving avocado!!

  41. I agreeโ€ฆ cooking for one is the pits. The minute I have an excuse to make a meal for even just one other person, the class and style skyrockets. :) This salad looks tasty. I wouldnโ€™t mind some now except that I donโ€™t really have any of those ingredients on hand. Time for a trip to the farmerโ€™s market!

  42. Doesnโ€™t everyone eat like this when they are alone? Grazingโ€ฆ.definitely grazing on whatever comes into view and holds even a slight appeal. Salad looks delish.

  43. I am so the same way. I will stand in my kitchen, eating saltine after saltine. Sometimes a sleeve of saltines is the best dinner. (I am sure my mother would say otherwise.) And oh my goodness, that salad looks delicious. And that bread looks divine as well. Do we really have to wait until Wednesday?

  44. I definately do the same thing sometimes, because sometimes (not always) cooking for one is depressing.
    btwโ€ฆI LOVE the new header!

  45. I just love the way you enjoy life, youโ€™re so inspiring!
    Cupcakes, Bourbon, pretty nice ^^ The salad is great because fresh!
    And I also wanted to add that I absolutely love your last picture, it looks out of time, and delicious.

  46. I eat the strangest things when left to my own devices. Good thing my husband keeps me on the straight & narrowโ€ฆ..ha.

    Is the word youโ€™re looking for, supreming the orange? Pretty sure thatโ€™s what itโ€™s called. My grandma taught me how to do that for fruit salad.

  47. Frozen cupcakesโ€ฆwhaaa? Iโ€™ve never had one, but now I have the urge to bake just to then freeze and eat. Tell me more!

  48. The last pic made me feel like eating pizza (mebbe its because im looking at the small screen of my phone), thats what the strawberry bread looks like.. Yep, will come back on wed to check out the strawberry bread!

  49. looks and sounds amazing. i love segmented oranges in salad! oh and the word for the skin bits is membrane :)

    also, if you get a refrigerator with a built-in ice maker, then you dontโ€™ have to apologize to your husband for never refilling the ice cube tray.

  50. The whole spread looks so happy! I say yes to the salad and canโ€™t wait to read about the strawberry bread. I am currently being held hostage by an army of salad greens in my garden, so will make your citrus salad as attempt to weaken their forces.

  51. I ate a dry, cold corn tortilla, a handful of granola, half a banana and a chocolate macaron for breakfast. Washed down with coffee and served with cat snuggles.

    I canโ€™t be left alone.

    strawberries on breadโ€ฆโ€ฆcanโ€™t wait!

  52. Its nice to know that even though you can cook a delicious meal that sometimes tortillas and cupcakes are what happening tonight! If youโ€™re interested in a good read โ€œAlone in the Kitchen with an Eggplantโ€ is hilarious and totally talks about people who eat weird things when alone. My dinner was garbanzo beans and broccoli (so I can pretend it was healthy) doused in cheese! The salad looks amazing, is it weird that in my head fruit and salads have never gone together? Donโ€™t ask me about how fruit salad fits into the picture. But the colors look amazing! Hope you have a great day!

  53. Just wanted to tell you that Iโ€™ve listened to the first 3 episodes on HomeFries and I love them! Iโ€™ve been listening while I clean lettuce from my garden. The fact that I made it through 3 episodes, all while cleaning it, shows both that I have TONS of lettuce growing and that Iโ€™m anal about washing it. Anyway, great podcasts!

    The avocados look so yummy. You shouldโ€™ve had one of those mashed up in the tortilla for dinner! :-)

  54. I donโ€™t think your dinner sounds weird at all. A tortilla with beans and corns sounds healthy and delicious. The salad certainly is, and it sounds wonderful! The salad dressing sounds right up my alley! Iโ€™ll try it on my coleslaw the next time I make it using tangerine juice because we always have tangerine juice in the house. Iโ€™ll make it with yogurt instead of egg.

    Thatโ€™s interesting that you would speak in slashes. Meโ€ฆwellโ€ฆIโ€™ll never be making an acceptance speech but if I did, Iโ€™d be speaking in ellipsis points. :)

    Iโ€™m not sure I can wait for your scrumptious looking strawberry goat cheese bread! Donโ€™t you have any idea how itโ€™s calling to me? I have to make it! Iโ€™ll have to find a way to distract myself. Okayโ€ฆIโ€™m going to the pool and playing tennis. Maybe Iโ€™ll be able to get that image of your wonderful looking bread out of my head by the time Iโ€™m done! :)

    Ohโ€ฆbourbon and cupcakes for dessertโ€ฆthatโ€™s perfect! :)

  55. Nice post..Iโ€™m not even interested in recipes/cooking but I enjoy reading this stuffโ€ฆgood photography too..hands look fine!

    1. My thoughts exactlyโ€ฆโ€ฆthe kind you donโ€™t need to even open the door. You deserve it! :)

  56. My kinda salad (and really, thatโ€™s how I eat dinner too when the husband is awayโ€ฆ I make the kid something thatโ€™s good for him and then I pick in and around things I have lying around).

    Looking forward to the strawberry bread!

  57. You just made me feel much better about eating an ungodly amount of cheesy bread and a bag of M&Ms for dinner last night. I canโ€™t be left to my own devices either.

  58. This looks like one of my go-to salads, I usually use grapefruit. When my husband is gone my eating habits go to hell. Snack attack. I usually eat popcorn and drink wine.

  59. I have some mung beans in my pantry that Iโ€™ve been dying to use, but then I take a look at my meat and potatoes husband and realize I might be pushing it. The orange-avocado salad, on the other hand, heโ€™d love that!

  60. Iโ€™m the same way about dinners! I eat random weird things unless someones coming over. Sometimes I invite people over just so I make a real dinner. :)

  61. Lol, you r funny Joy. That thing youโ€™ve called โ€œweird dinnerโ€ is a quite common practice by mortals all around the world every now and then (and I proudly include myself in that list).
    I wrote my first baking post this weekend, yay for me!!! :)

    fromcaliwlove.blogspot.com

  62. Nice orange segments. Very well doneโ€ฆI tell my child and hubs to just eat the segment parts, the fibrous part, b/c I am not patient enough to segment them. Iโ€™d rather spend my precious kitchen time makingโ€ฆchocolate desserts:)

    Or that salad. Looks great and I make my own salad dressing 99% of the time, too. Shaken in old glass jars is my method, also.

    Thanks for the bread recipe tease :)

  63. Love this salad. I make a similar one with sliced strawberries along with the orangesโ€ฆ and I also toast pine nuts into it. The dressing I make is similar too but I like the addition of garlic and vinegar in yours. Perfect spring salad! I could eat a vat of it.. and then a frozen cupcake!!!

  64. Hey, thereโ€™s nothing wrong with eating weird/having 30 year old looking hands/ and speaking in slash marks.

    This salad dressing sounds delicious. I can hardly wait to read about that fab looking bread!

  65. Hey girl, I know this isnโ€™t the right place for this reply but I just had to say I love your podcast! It really makes me giggle. I listen to it whilst Iโ€™m walking my dog. Can I make a request for a podcast about peanut butter? Anything about it. Just.. peanut butter. Or malted milk. Or both.

    Hurry and make more podcasts!

    PS I tried to leave a review on iTunes but it kept crashing on me, sorry.

  66. Iโ€™m totally with you there Joy- on my own dinner is toast. Or if Iโ€™ve feeling more adventurous toast and cheese. And if Iโ€™m really pushing the boat out toast and cheese and chocolate. Thatโ€™s why I have to be cooking for others, so I get variety at dinner.

  67. That looks super delicious/simple/amazing.

    I really need someone to hold my hand when I make salad dressing. Itโ€™s my achilles heel. Weird right?

  68. This Salad looks so simple but im sure itโ€™s delicious!
    I love your recipes Joy! and your writing its amazing like always :)
    Iโ€™d love if you could check my blog! im just getting started, i could use some advice!
    Thank you and I Love you and your blog in a good way <3 haha

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