My salad inspirations come from my mother. Every meal on the table when I was growing up included a salad and they were never boring. In the early years it was always iceburg lettuce, eventually replaced by mixed greens or spinach. There was always avocado or tomatoes from her garden, green onions (which I’ve learned to love), often there were radishes or artichoke hearts. Simple greens provide a blank palette for inspiration—you can add whatever you friggin’ want. During my years at Mills I got together once a week with friends Erin and Alyson for a potluck dinner and poetry critique/gabfest/winefest, and Alyson taught me that adding nuts and cheese is another way to make a salad heartier.

These days my favorite salad toppings include sunflower seeds, goat cheese, some kind of bean—garbanzo, or black if I’m making a taco salad—artichoke hearts, peppers, and avocado. Adding peach or strawberries is wonderful in the summer, and herbs like cilantro or dill add surprising flavor.

I whipped up this particular salad for a dinner in Temescal with some former and current neighbors, and tossed in pumpkin seeds, peach, avocado, carrot, bell pepper, heirloom tomato and . . . eh, some other stuff too.