Herb Salad with Lime Agave Dressing

The other night, my brother stopped by for an impromptu visit and while I was delighted to see him (and the chocolate cake he brought), I was completely unprepared for visitors.  After a week spent acclimating the kids back to school, running in and out of the city, and undergoing my first root canal (ouch), my cupboards were looking pretty neglected.  So, I rummaged through the freezer and thankfully found some fresh pizza dough.  I quickly realized that while the pizza was a quick and easy solution, it certainly wasn’t enough for the whole lot of us.  This is where creativity and resourcefulness comes in handy.  I decided to head out to my little vegetable and herb garden and pull together what I could.  I combined mint, basil, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber and feta and tossed it through some greens.  Then I made this lime agave dressing and mixed it all up.  My brother couldn’t stop raving about it.  He even mentioned it to my mom who asked me to recreate it for our next family get together.  So, I figured I’d share my little creation with you!  I made another version last night but substituted cucumbers for avocados.  The results were just as good…in fact, I think I prefer the avocados.  You can improvise a number of ways…other tasty additions are edamame, chick peas, thinly sliced green apples (and swap out the feta for manchego cheese…yum!), cranberries, or pine nuts.  Or, another option for the dressing is to use fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper.  At the end of the day, it’s the herbs that elevate this salad.  They give it a certain freshness and texture that lettuce alone cannot accomplish.