Dressing at the last minute — not in the morning “ready”

The salad is already in the bowl — and the hand pours oil “in the morning, so we’re not rushing”. Easy to dress ahead: by supper the leaf is limp, a puddle at the bottom, the crunch gone. I keep the dressing separate and pour when we sit down — so the leaf still crunches, and the oil sits on it, not in a puddle under it.

Dressing at the last minute — not in the morning “ready”. How I dry salad leaves so the dressing sticks is another note; lettuce in a towel its own; the salad spinner another story. Here it’s the moment of dressing itself: not morning, but the table — not a lecture about “perfect vinaigrette with scales”.

Oil, lemon, a pinch of salt — shake in a jar and pour. If the leaf is already wet — blot first; wet under oil still turns to mash. I’m not writing a new sauce in this note — it’s about the bowl that already stands at ours while the kettle clicks for supper.

I don’t need a salad that gave up in the morning. I need a leaf that still crunches when we sit down. At yours is the dressing poured at the last minute — or already in the morning “ready”, and by supper a puddle at the bottom?