Mushroom, Jarlsberg and Spinach Salad

Apparently, today is National Bring Your Salad To Work Day. The press release received by food writers far and wide declared, "women across America are invited to bring their salads to work in an effort to eat better and feel more energized throughout the workday.” The invitation--which excludes male salad eaters in the workplace--was extended by Working Mother magazine and Kraft Salad Dressings. I chuckled when Nancy Nichols at Sidedish asked, “Forgive a moment of naivety: Can anyone declare a national day?" She also points out that while Kraft and Working Mother request we set aside “a day to set aside to embrace healthful eating in the workplace”, salads do not necessarily equate to healthful eating; "Have you really looked at how many grams of fat and calories can hide under the name of salad?" Nichols asks.

As a consumer, I ask that you ponder the merits of Kraft salad dressings, which include ingredients such as modified food starch, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and propylene glycol---a chemical used in tobacco products, sexual lubricants and as the killing and preserving agent used to capture ground beetles.
So please, allow me to extend an invitation of my own. This recipe is an alternative to your typical green salad, "embraces healthy eating", and offers enough fat and calories to satisfy as a stand-alone entree. In my experience as a food provider, it is also a hit with males.

1 ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 pound Jarlsberg cheese, shredded
1/2 cup minced spinach
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
4 large red lettuce leaves
Lemon slices, for garnish

Toss the mushrooms, cheese, spinach, lemon juice, and oil together. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Serve each portion on a red lettuce leaf and garnish with a lemon slice. Serves 4.
Note: Dressing should be added to salad no longer than 1/2 hour before serving, so that the mushrooms retain their best color and texture. If you do have leftovers the next day, try making a quick tartine, laying salad over a large slice of French or sourdough bread and warming in a toaster oven until cheese is melted. Yum!

Food Fact! Everything old is new again. According to Wikipedia, the history of this cheese can be traced back to the middle 1850s. Its creator, Anders Larsen Bakke (1815–1899), was a local farmer/entrepreneur and a pioneer in Norway's dairy industry. He produced the cheese in the Våle village in Vestfold county, some 80 km south of Oslo, and the cheese came to be named "Jarlsberg" because "Jarlsberg & Larviks Amt" was the name of the county until 1918, when it was renamed with its old name "Vestfold". Interestingly, production was discontinued in the early 1900s, and the cheese was only re-invented by professor Ola Martin Ystgaard of the Agricultural University of Norway in the late 1950s. Jarlsberg cheese is a firm, light gold Norwegian cow's milk cheese with holes similar to Swiss cheese. Mild, buttery and slightly sweet, Jarlsberg has a yellow-wax rind and a semi-firm yellow interior.