In the July issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha has a recipe for Composed Salad of Roasted Broccoli, Romaine, Chickpeas and Walnuts.

Sound complicated? It was. This salad had 6 components, all of which required separate work (2 baking sheets, one saute pan, three spatulas, a collander, a cutting board, a knife,  a Cuisinart, measuring spoons, and a jar for mixing up the dressing, not to mention 3 bowls for serving and a platter).

First I roasted the broccoli with oil. Next I cooked a shallot and the chickpeas. Then I candied the pecans (my substitution for walnuts). Then I made the goat cheese puree and the vinaigrette. Whew.  It was a lot of work. Next I washed the lettuce and tried to put it all together like Martha’s photo. By this time I felt like I had cooked an entire meal and all I had was a salad.

Now, the real question is how did it taste? The family’s reaction to this one was a lot of head scratching. We each took a big lettuce leaf and piled the other ingredients on, then cut it up and tried to mix it or toss it on our plates. Once you get that done, it does taste pretty good, but it wasn’t out of this world fantastic by any means. And it was messy because things fall of your plate as you’re trying to mix it. My teen’s assessment? “Dumb.”