The joy (and some times, the frustration) of eating in rhythm with the seasons is that there's so little repetition. Four times a year -- in truth, nearly each month -- the earth yields new foods for us to sample. In spring, we breathlessly await the arrival of asparagus and artichokes for salads. In summer, a salad comes without thought, throw a few tomatoes into a bowl, add a little onion and vinaigrette, it's a salad.

Fall salads? Winter salads? They require a little more thought, a little more planning. Molly Wizenberg explained the effect of change of seasons on her kitchen in a lyrical 2006 post:

"In my kitchen, every climatic change calls for its own signature salad: a sliced one for spring, with endive, cilantro, radishes, and feta; a cooling one for summer, with lime and garlic; and for winter, a festive red cabbage slaw. As for fall, it wants warm flavors, I think: a cool-weather green, some olives, pine nuts, and peppers, and a few homemade croutons rubbed with plenty of garlic." (Read more at Orangette.)

So what exactly makes a fall salad, well, a fall salad? Some ideas:

The ingredients you won't find in fall salads? Asparagus. Artichokes. Tomatoes. Cucumbers? Rare. Peppers? In late summer and early fall, less so now.

These fall salads caught my attention -- if you have a good one, be sure to add it to the comments!

Happy Herbivore ~ Raw Apple and Fennel Salad
"It’s a lovely Fall salad and great for anyone trying raw fennel root for the first time (ugh hem, me!)."

Supermarket Serenade ~ Apple, Fennel, Walnut and Pomegranate Salad with White Pepper Parmesan Vinaigrette
"At the risk of sounding too superlative this is the ultimate fall salad. The crispness of the apples combined with the anise flavor of the fennel is perfectly complemented by the tartness of the pomegranate. I recommend using Cortland apples because they stay white longer than most apples and they are a perfect texture for salads."

Vegan Feast Kitchen ~ Chard & Apple Salad with Maple-Braised Butternut Squash & Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
"I wanted to use our chard and a nice local butternut squash that I had, and I needed a salad, so this is what I came up with. It was super-delicious and a big hit!"

Bon Vivant ~ Spiced Pumpkin Lentil Salad
"A bite of this gorgeous salad just screams ‘Fall is here!’ with the soft and thick cubes of pumpkin (or butternut squash, which I used), marrying with the tender bite of the lentils and a creamy, tangy after taste from the goat cheese. There is a slight heat from the paprika, just enough to balance out the cool arugula but not too much to overpower the palate."

The Kitchn ~ Rainbow Chard Salad with Raisins and Walnuts
"Chard's slight bitterness needs a little sweetness, so we shook up a dressing with orange juice, red wine, olive oil, and a touch of brown sugar and tossed it all with raisins and roasted walnuts, fresh from the oven. The warmth from the walnuts wilts the salad just enough, and the sweet, bitter, and toasty blend into a salad that delighted us with its fall colors and warm tastes."

More Than Burnt Toast ~ Orchard Apple Salad
"In my cupboard I had walnuts, apple cider vinegar, olive and grapeseed oils, Dijon mustard, dried rosemary and parsley, dried cranberries and blueberries. To use my friend Giz's words, "'he results were nothing short of magical."

And you?
And you, what's your favorite fall salad combination? Leave an idea -- or a recipe or a link to a recipe -- in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg favorite fall salad is her Wild Rice Salad.