I found the recipe for this salad in my old recipe binder - something I would use before the days of the Internet to paste recipes from magazines or from friends. The pages are falling apart and the magazine clippings are getting a bit yellowed, but it's almost like going through a scrapbook. I am coming across old friends that I had forgotten about and ones that I never really knew at all. I was very ambitious back then, thinking I would do things like making that three-layer chocolate malted cake or the spicy shrimp and potatoes. Ha! Add a couple of kids to the mix and my lofty goals suddenly turn to grilled cheese and hot dogs. Years later and I still think maybe someday when I get a bigger kitchen or have a lot of people over for an extravagant dinner party. Until then, I will stick to simple recipes like this.

Summer Salad

red leaf lettuce
bean sprouts
tomato, sliced
cucumber, cubed
cheddar cheese, cubed or grated
pine nuts
pita bread
Italian salad dressing
**All ingredients are to your taste**


Tear up a few of the red lettuce leaves, leaving a couple of whole ones for the base of the pita bread. Use scissors to cut an "X" through the top layer of the pita, then cut each section in half again so there are eight pieces folding out. Line the bottom of the pita with lettuce leaves. 

Mix together the torn lettuce, bean sprouts, tomato slices, cucumber, and cheddar cheese. Toss with the dressing. Fill the pita with the salad and top with pine nuts.