Bitter-melon Salad (raw)

Salad: 

2 bittermelons, de-seeded and shredded
1 long English cucumber, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 purple onion, diced
1 head Romaine lettuce, finely shredded
several sprigs parsley, finely chopped 

Dressing: 

1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. garlic powder or 5-6 cloves fresh minced garlic
1/2 rounded t. sea salt
black pepper (optional)

Prepare the salad ingredients and put in a large bowl. The salad is much like a salsa with Romaine lettuce if the pieces are small. Whizz the dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender and pour over the prepared salad, mixing well.

the basic salad ingredients

de-seeding and shredding the bitter-melon 

adding the dressing to the prepared salad

the salad itself ... very much like a salsa!

A note on bitter-melon: Some people find the bitter-melon just that, very bitter; however, prepared with complementary veggies and the lemon-garlic dressing marinade here, the strong bitterness is very much toned down. For people with low iron, the bitter-melon is an excellent dietary choice for boosting that iron and this is one way it is quite nice!