Early morning, time to make lunches. We had almost everything I needed for a couple of rocking southwestern salads, so I pulled all my ingredients out and got to work. No radishes in the house, so I used yellow bell pepper for extra crunchiness, and I went for pinto beans instead of black beans because, well, I felt like it.

Ingredients:

(Serves one as a meal.)

4 cups of arugula.

1/2 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained.

1/2 yellow bell pepper, deseeded and sliced.

2 mandarins, peeled and sectioned.

2 scallions, sliced.

1 fistful of fresh cilantro.

Zest of 1/2 a lemon.

Southwestern Avocado Citronette:

(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)

3 T extra virgin olive oil.

1 T fresh lemon juice.

1/2 avocado, spooned into jar.

1/2 clove of garlic, smashed and minced.

1/4 tsp cumin.

1/4 tsp smoked paprika.

1/2 tsp maple syrup.

Pinch of salt, to taste.

Since I was making two salads, one for me to eat at home and one for my husband to eat at work, I doubled all of the ingredients listed above. I started by laying down my lovely beds of arugula — mine in a bowl, his in a stainless steel container with a tight fitting lid. I rinsed and drained the pinto beans, setting them aside in a sieve to drain a little more while I worked. I zested the lemon over the greens, and crafted my salad dressings in twin jars. In this case, that included measuring out the ingredients, and spooning the avocado into the jars as well. I shook them up and tested them by dipping a leaf of arugula into the citronette and tasting for salt and flavor balance. I peeled and sectioned the mandarins. (Yes, they are far more beautiful when they are sliced open and the jeweled fruit is exposed, but those plain little membranes keep the citrus juices from wilting the greens.) I chopped the yellow bell pepper, the scallions, and the cilantro, and added all of my ingredients to my beds of arugula. I nestled my husband’s jar of citronette in with his salad and snapped a picture before popping the lid back on.

Salads just don’t take that long to make — twenty minutes or less of chopping and mixing, and you’ve got a deliciously nutritious meal, for now or later.

The Verdict:

You know what I thought of this. I loved it. Juicy citrus, creamy beans, crunchy bell pepper, peppery arugula… This is a can’t fail recipe for me, and, once again, it succeeded.

Make it a Meal:

Done.

Pack it to Go:

Done.