quicko: salad

One of the greater condundrums of American culture is precisely what constitutes a salad. Basically, it boils down to any group of three or more cold ingredients put together in a covered dish that can be taken to a potluck. We have pasta salads (see above, left), chicken salads, jello salads, Waldorf salads, Snickers salads and strawberry pretzel salads (see above, right), to name a few. They may be eaten with a fork, or maybe with a spoon; they could be healthy, they might be fattening; possibly the ingredients are congealed together, or then again they may be separate. Generally, though, they come in large quantities, get slapped on the side of the plate and are huge hit.