I grew up in New Orleans, and moved to New York in the 1980’s. I have two sisters and a brother, all of whom used to live so close to my parents that I referred to their neighborhood as “the compound.” Then there was Hurricane Katrina, and my brother and one of my sisters both moved to other states. Starting then, every summer, my parents rented a large house on the Florida panhandle and we (18 of us, give or take, depending on whose kids are available) gathered for a week. We all like to cook so we took turns making dinner, usually on the grill. I love to bake, so I was in charge of muffins, cookies, cakes (There are 3 July and 2 August birthdays so there’s always cake to bake.) and whatever desserts struck my fancy. I started making salad in self defense. While my siblings and their spouses are good cooks, they are a bit vegetable challenged, and I practically live on vegetables. So while my two older nephews will only eat romaine lettuce with bottled dressing, the rest of the family became accustomed to, and now even asks for my “wonderful salad.” <br /> <br />The salad is huge (We have very large bowls for tossing and serving.) but can easily be scaled down. <br /> <br />The ingredients are flexible based on what’s available in the grocery store and (limited) farm stands in the area. They’re also based on our family’s picky tastes. Someone usually brings or picks up home grown tomatoes. And while New Orleans French bread (which we can easily get there) is amazing, my mother found it too “bready,” and cleaned (literally, that’s what she called it) out the center of the bread. Rather than throw it away, I started tearing it into large breadcrumbs, toasting it, and tossing it on top of the salad. Even my mother liked that. <br /> <br />2019 note. While I still make this salad for family gatherings, we no longer go to the beach together. My mom died in October of 2017, and my dad, who is 94, now lives in assisted living. It’s sad, but it’s how life goes. We have the food, and our memories of cooking and eating together, and that’s one of the ways we define ourselves as family.

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