Dressing up salads in the campus dining halls: three different options

It doesn't take a scientist to make a great salad.

The first full week of classes means one thing—the first week of labs, which brings me to Bates dining hall for lunch. For the past two years, while taking an array of biology and chemistry courses and rushing to and from bi-weekly labs, Bates unfortunately had to bear the brunt of my pre-med distress.

This year as a junior, however, life at Wellesley seems all about being less stressed. Maybe it's because my dark days of organic chemistry are finally behind me, or because I am now learning how to hide my frustration better, but without a doubt I have to thank my Physics 104 lab.

Now I only wish someone had told me this as a first year: "Chemistry, biology—no, no—start with physics; it's the easiest." First of all, a lab is slotted only to take three hours. Second, the only work you have to do outside of lab is—wait for it—print out the lab. Ha ha, is this a joke? No, it's physics, and it's amazing.

But I digress; now back to the food. Despite its "East Side" stigma, Bates is in my opinion the most underrated dining hall on campus. Not only is it spacious, i.e. enough room for me to peruse through my options a couple of times, but it also features burgers made to order, a salad-of-the-day station, and of course goldfish, sneakily kept at the end of the salad bar. Just in case you didn't have enough crunch or fat on your salad, it's a last-minute option.

I settled on the salad special of the day: a Mediterranean with mixed greens, red peppers, hummus, Tabouli, sprinkled with feta and Kalamata olives, and drizzled with Greek dressing (Ken's, surprisingly). Now for some protein, and for this I really had to scour, I scooped out the most tender, mouthwatering beef from the beef and barley soup. It was the best meat I have eaten on Wellesley College campus, hands down.

After such a great salad to kick off the week, I scrutinized the Tower salad bar the next day at lunch and spotted my favorite ingredients for cranberry quinoa salad. Quinoa, once considered "the gold of the Incas" certainly earns some gold stars in my book. This little whole grain, which has a somewhat nutty-flavor when cooked, is high in protein, magnesium and iron. Great for vegetarians and vegans, it was lonely, sitting in the allergy station, waiting for someone, anyone, to eat it. Paired with fresh vegetables from the salad bar—peas, carrots, red onions—dried cranberries and a light balsamic vinaigrette, it made a perfect lunch dish.

The third salad of the week is the "Salat-teller," translation: "salad-plate" (Teller is the German word for plate). This is the Swiss version of antipasto, made up of different salad fixings such as: beet, carrot, cucumber, celery, white asparagus, etc., and served over a crisp bed of lettuce with a side of freshly baked "Burebrot," meaning farmer's bread. Now, you must be thinking, "Two Swiss recipes in a row? Wow, this girl is obsessed." Well, yes and no. My mother is Swiss, so I grew up eating Swiss foods and spending summers in Switzerland learning to cook from my grandmother. I was able to find all the necessary ingredients for my Salat-teller, fresh baked bread included, at the Lulu. The salad bar provided beets, corn, cherry tomatoes, sliced hardboiled eggs and green bean salad, all of which I craftily arranged over romaine lettuce and finished off with my own French dressing.

So what did we learn this week? Salads, salads, salads. And the key to salads? Preparation.You know that girl, the one who takes her time picking out only the greenest lettuce leaves—and returning the wilted ones—meticulously choosing her tomatoes, hesitating to decide if today she wants onions on her salad or chickpeas. The worst is the dressing; this is where the assembly line really clogs, especially if she has to mix her own. Well, I hate to break it to you, but I am that girl, and you should be too, if you want to make a truly great salad. So be a little bit more annoying (hey, we're all Wendys after all), hold up the salad bar line and remember this is no five hour lab requirement, just a little creative science!