The perfect salad

When I was home for the long weekend, my parents and I had a huge BBQ to celebrate July 4th. As usual, my mom made her signature garden salad—with most of the ingredients picked from our backyard. Sure, it's a basic salad, but somehow, it always tastes crisp and crunchy and looks fluffy and fresh. 

I finally asked her to share her secret: she uses paper towels to dry off every vegetable she adds to the bowl after washing them. For example, after pre-washing the lettuce, she leaves it in a plastic bag with a paper towel to soak up any excess moisture. She also lets ingredients like cucumbers and tomatoes air dry on a paper towel before adding them to the salad. What a difference this makes! 

Do you have any salad-making tricks?