Saturday, June 28, 2008

Salads For Summer

Salads sound so good on hot summer days. I have a great vintage wooden salad bowl that I like to use, and some pretty hand-painted wooden utensils for tossing and serving, too.
I love how they photographed the salads from above in this Mazola Salad Bowl Book. The only date I found inside is 1939. Mmmm...fresh watermelon, peaches,honeydew, cantaloupe, and strawberries served inside a melon half, surrounded with mint, and served on a yellow Fiesta plate. Looks good to me!
An interesting combo in this one - canned green beans, cooked potatoes, canned tuna or salmon, um, I'm not sure. Could use some tweaking..
This one sure looks pretty! Bananas, avocado, pineapple, watermelon, apple, cantaloupe, oranges and strawberries. (Click on the pictures to read the recipes, if you like.)
One of my favorite salads lately is a variation of the one my friend Kari in Vancouver served us when we were there for a visit in May of 2007:
Spinach and/or leafy greens
Gorgonzola or goat cheese
Fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries
Glazed or spiced walnuts or pecans
Girard's Raspberry or Champagne dressing
Toss it all together, adding fresh raspberries last due to their fragility. Kari used mixed leafy greens, Gorgonzola cheese, the Raspberry dressing, and homemade glazed walnuts. I don't even really like Gorgonzola, but it was fabulous. I like to use my favorite Montchevre Crumbled Goat Cheese, spinach, fabulous sugared/spiced nuts from our local farmer's market, strawberries (just because they hold up a little better) and the light version of Girard's Champagne dressing. Yum. Try it with whatever your favorites are!

4 comments:

Karen Jo said...

Thanks, Heidi! You read my mind. I love salads; I'm trying to eat more; and I'm looking for new salad or vegetable ideas. Love, Deb

Heidi Ann said...

Great! You're very welcome, Deb. I just had one of those salads for dinner last night!

Tina Dawn said...

I know Kari is going down in history for that great salad she made for you two, I wish I had been there. The Board lunches where I used to work had similiar salads and I too fell in love. I like now to use fresh strawberries from the garden in our salads as they ripen. Never would have thought to put fruit in a veggie salad before, but it is so good. During the winter we always have spinach and baby greens salads with craisins, sunflower seeds, and light feta cheese. In the summer when my favorite golden cherry tomatoes are ripe I change the salads back to the more traditional because the tomatoes are so yummy. I just don't like store bought tomatoes anymore. Great post. I feel healthier just reading it. Love T

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