Photo: lisaakemi/Flickr

Since I’ve started living with my boyfriend — and, by extension, cooking for him — I’ve realized, with some sadness, that I can’t just have a salad for dinner anymore. My boyfriend likes vegetables, but unless they’re paired with grains or a protein, it’s just not enough to fill him up.

So while I used to look at salads like this cabbage and orange beauty from Roost and think “cheap dinner,” now I see it and try to think if shredded chicken or salmon would go well in it, or if it would make a nice side to an omelette. Or even if it can stand alongside pork chops. Maybe the oranges make it more of a breakfast salad, served with toast and poached eggs; or maybe I could toss in some quinoa or chickpeas.

But you know what? I think I may just make this simple salad as is, on a night when my boyfriend is away or in class. It may be just plants, it may be cold and crunchy instead of warm and deeply filling, but some nights, that’s all you need. Why should a bloody steak steal the limelight from a blood orange?