Every year during the week of St Patrick's day, we do an Irish week. And every year I make some sort of pub salad. Here's a picture and a notional recipe of what I make.

Mixed greens and cherry tomatoes, dressed with oil and vinegar
Picked things like onions, beets, cabbage, cornichons, or whatever you particularly like/have
Baked fingerling potatoes
Boiled green beans
Pieces of cheddar cheese
Hard boiled egg
Dill/tarragon sauce (I usually just buy something interesting from the store)

Serve composed on a plate

Although not strictly necessary, the smashing of the cucumbers in this Bon Appetit recipe does yield a nice texture and, as Bon Appetit says, creates nooks and crannies for the marinade.

1 pound Persian or English hothouse cucumbers
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
3 scallions, sliced
4 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Red chili flakes

Middle Eastern Grain Bowl

• grains and greens
• hard boiled egg or leftover chicken
• chopped tomato, cucumber
• pickled onion, pepper
• fried halloumi
• yogurt, cumin, lemon sauce

New American Harvest Grain Bowl

• grains
• hard boiled egg
• root veg: sweet potatoes, pumpkin/squash, pickled beets, etc.
• green veg: broccoli, green beans, etc.
• fried halloumi (or cheddar on side)
• green sauce

Caribbean Grain Bowl

• grains and greens
• chicken leftovers
• roasted sweet potato
• pickled onions and peppers
• mango
• fried halloumi
  * spicy green sauce

Via Dorie Greenspan, these quick blender savory pancakes could be used in many interesting ways. Combines nicely with this avocado and cucumber salad for a meat-free, heavy protein meal.

Pancakes
1 cup home-cooked or canned no-salt-added chickpeas, drained, 1/4 cup of their liquid reserved
1/2 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, cut in half lengthwise (germ removed)

2 pounds small carrots or other hearty winter vegetable (we used brussels sprouts), salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon English mustard powder
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander or fennel
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup labneh (or plain Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus more
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus more
Lemon wedges (for serving)

This recipe from Bon Appetit uses raw kale and brussels sprout to make a delicious, nutty salad.

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side.

For the salad:

1/2 bunch of Tuscan or lacinato kale (about 1/4 lb), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced or shredded in food processor
1/2 pint of brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely sliced or shredded in food processor
1/2 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino

For the dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper

1 Grapefruit
1 Lemon
(other citrus as desired)
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced, and some fronds
1 cup dried chickpeas, rehydrated and cooked
greens (optional)
5 oz feta, crumbled (optional)

Cut peel and pith from citrus; cut between membranes to release segments. Squeeze juice from membranes into a medium bowl; whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toss in citrus, chickpeas, fennel, greens and feta, and a handful of fennel fronds.

Via http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/03/chickpea-fennel-and-ci...

Adapted from The Bitten Word, adapted from Food & Wine.  We didn't have any Harissa handy, so we improvised.  This salad provides a great, bright and spicy contrast to a tagine dish.

For the salad

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I am a big fan of any number of "middle eastern salads" - lettuce-less salads which go by different names (with slightly different twists) in a variety of middle eastern and mediterranean cuisines. Yes, there is a difference between a fattoush salad and a shirazi salad, but frankly, I find that what I want is the same basic recipe with a few optional modifications, depending on how the dish will fit into the week's menu.

The basic vegetable components of the salad are:
Diced tomatoes (or halved cherry tomatoes)

Adapted from Tart and Sweet:

Yield: 4 half-pints

About 4 heads of garlic, separated into cloves, peeled and trimmed

1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp kosher salt

Per half-pint jar:
1 thick slice lemon
1 rosemary sprig
1 thyme sprig
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seed
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp fennel seed
1/8 tsp vegetable crisper granules

Adapted from Tart and Sweet:

Yield: 1-2 pints (or 1 pint and 1 half-pint)

About 1 pound of baby beets (approx 8 small beets)

1 cup champagne or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp kosher salt

Per pint-size jar:
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp juniper berries
1 bay leaf (fresh if you have it)
Optional: 1 star anise pod
1/4 tsp vegetable crisper granules

This was adapted from a NYTimes article in search of an improved shrimp and grits recipe:

For the grits:

• 1/2 cup grits
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 t salt
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (a 50/50 mix of cheddar and jarlsberg works great)
• dash paprika

This is a basic recipe for dashi, or seaweed stock (as I would describe it). It is the basis for many Japanese soup recipes. I consider the American equivalent (not in flavor, but in use) to be chicken stock.

• 4 large strips of Dried Kombu (dried kelp), cut into roughly 4x4 inch squares
• 1 Tbsp mushroom buillon base
• 6 cups of cold water
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms

Roasted cherry peppers stuffed with Serrano ham, basil, and goat cheese. From Epicurious : http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/STUFFED-CHERRY-PEPPERS-12...

Ingredients
12 hot cherry peppers
5 ounces fresh goat cheese
12 paper-thin slices of Serrano Ham (jámon Serrano) or Prosciutto - anchovies are also tasty, and consider olives as a stufffer as well
12 medium-sized fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 T Sherry Vinegar
1/2 t salt
6 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Preparation
Crush the garlic and add it to the olive oil. Set aside.

1 1/2 lb Chinese long beans*
1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (2 1/2 oz; not cocktail peanuts)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 to 3 small fresh Thai chiles** (to taste), finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Add shrimp to make a full meal