Snow days don’t automatically bring to mind memories of great salads, right?  Right.  But I plan our meals a week at a time, so it just happened that we had one recipe left when we found ourselves snowed in for the weekend–Spinach and Barley Salad with Grilled Pork (a la Country Living).

photo by Stephen Devries (via the Country Living website)

I know, I know.  It sounds healthy.  Who gets excited about spinach and barley?  Much less the beets and radishes and carrots that get thrown into the mix.  But trust me on this one.  It is delicious.  We decided it deserves a spot in our regular meal rotation, and that’s kind of a big deal.

I’ve been in a bit of an anti-cooking, anti-veggies kick lately.  Sadly, I’m an adult who feels the need to eat the occasional vegetable, even when I don’t actually want to eat a vegetable.  And my husband has this strange love for all things healthy.  I grudgingly picked this recipe to try to tick those boxes.

This salad was so flavorful and fresh and hearty at the same time.  The dressing was perfect with all of the strong vegetables, and the pork made it feel much less virtuous (in a good way).  Other bonuses include reasonable clean-up and very little actual cooking.  This was so good that I chose the leftovers for lunch today instead of the off-brand Easy Mac that’s hanging out in our pantry.  That’s quite a coup.

In case you didn’t see the link before, you can find the recipe right here.

(I know I’m not the only person who struggles with a love for fake cheese and all things carbohydrate, so put that stink eye away.  They’re just so good.  Please don’t let that cloud your opinion of this recipe.  This is no Easy Mac.  But if you happen to like Easy Mac, you still have a chance of liking this recipe.  It’s like a Venn Diagram.  Not all fake cheese eaters will like this, but some will.  Not all radish eaters will like fake cheese, but some will.)

And hey, enjoy the snow if you’re lucky enough to have some in your neck of the woods!