A salad is a dish consisting of a mixture of small pieces of food, usually vegetables or fruit. However, different varieties of salad may contain virtually any type of ready-to-eat food. Wikipedia

I agree with wikipedia. In my books, a salad is any vegetable or fruit that i just feel like adding to my lettuce base ..lol . If there is an orange , i will make a citrus salad . My base is literally lettuce, and everything else is just added to fill up the bowl or add color, texture, taste.

So…for a basic salad, try considering the following:

• Lettuce be honest – use different varieties of lettuce to highlight contrasting flavors, textures, and colors. The most common types of lettuce for salads include iceberg, green leaf, red leaf, and romaine. For some fun, try add any two types of these for variety and a bit of crunch. 
• Bite sized pieces – There is always a debate about either tearing the lettuce or cutting it. I think this one is dependent on preference. When i want a uniform look ,i will cut them, but on those lazy days, i just tear it up .
• Tomato it up – Cherry tomatoes are lovely in salads and so are regular tomatoes. Just don’t put overripe tomatoes in, as they will spoil your salad quickly with the excess water in them. Try get the firm kind which are just ripe with a little green in them.
• Ingredient scale – I am guilty of sometimes overloading my salad with too many vegetables. A balance needs to be found. Like, you can add red onion for crunch and shredded carrot for color. What needs to happen here is a play on colors of the vegetables you want to add to keep it vibrant and styles of cuts, such as diced,shredded, sliced,etc.
• Crispy cool – Best salad is served chilled. Warm salad is not so good and the look is just dead (wilted leaves). Preventing this, make sure your lettuce is washed and dried and aerated to minimize wilting . If the lettuce is wet, your dressing will just slide off and settle at the bottom of the bowl.
• Dress up – Dressing the salad is done just before serving to prevent it getting soggy. A vinaigrette dressing is lighter on the salad keeping it lightly coated, where as a mayo-based dressing will weigh the salad down. But preference here is really up to the maker of the salad. I am a fan of both, so it is hard to choose.

Here is a quick simple basic salad recipe. It usually serves 8 people, but if you have salad loving fans like my family, well…. i’m sure you can adjust accordingly ..hehehe!

Simple Salad

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 (10 ounce) packages mixed salad greens
• 1 tomato, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 2 pinches salt
• 3 tablespoons vinaigrette salad dressing

Instructions

1. Cut onion and bell pepper and set aside
2. In a large salad bowl, combine the onion, pepper, salad greens and tomato. Sprinkle with the onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Toss to mix.
3. Pour on enough salad dressing or vinegar to coat, toss again and serve.