When the weather warms up and the flowers are blooming, my tastes turn to salads. Who doesn’t love a fresh spinach salad with strawberries, feta cheese, and toasted pecans? Or maybe goat cheese and blueberries with a lemon vinaigrette?

Spinach with berries or fruit and a tangy dressing make a beautiful salad for your backyard get together or a picnic in the park and I’ve made it easy for you with my Summer Spinach Salad Cheater’s Chart.

Start with a bowl of fresh spinach and add one or more items from each column and you’ve got yourself a crowd pleaser with minimal effort. Voila, salad success!

Add the dressing right before serving and enjoy.

 

If you don’t like or can’t get fresh spinach, substitute romaine, arugula, escarole or kale. To make it even easier, buy a pre-washed, bagged spring mix at your local market.

Peaches and nectarines go wonderfully. Slice or dice them but you don’t need to peel them.

I highly recommend that you toast the nuts. Toasting intensifies their flavors and makes them crunchier. Toast your nuts a day or two ahead if you like and store them in a sealed container.

To toast nuts add them to a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes or spread them out in an even layer on a sheet pan and place in a 350 oven for 6 to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they burn easily.

Sliced red onion is a wonderful addition to almost any spinach and fruit salad. Here’s the trick: soak the onion slices in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes to take away their bite before adding them to your salad. Your breath will thank me.

Add other ingredients as they come into season: avocados, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, green onions, seedless grapes, bell peppers, sliced apples or pears, cilantro, parsley, etc. See what’s ripe and ready at the farmers’ market or look around your pantry. Dried cranberries or mandarin oranges make a wonderful substitute for fresh fruit if you’re in a pinch.

How to Make Salad Dressing in a Jiffy

To make any of these dressings, add all ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake for 10 seconds. Could it be any easier? Add salt and pepper once you’ve given it a taste and you’re all set.

Here are the ingredient lists:

Basic Vinaigrette

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons vinegar (balsamic, white wine, red wine, etc.)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Poppy Seed Dressing

⅓ cup white sugar
½ cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Lemon vinaigrette

½ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon Juice
salt and pepper to taste

Oil and Vinegar

This is a super easy basic dressing. 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Whisk together, add salt and pepper and that’s it. Use whatever oil or vinegar you like. Here’s one of my favorite combinations.

¾ cup sunflower seed oil
¼ cup white or white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Add chopped garlic or fresh or dried chopped herbs, like cilantro, tarragon, thyme, parsley or oregano. A smidge of Dijon mustard or honey will keep this dressing emulsified.

Creamy yogurt

1 cup plain yogurt, Greek works well
1 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Honey Balsamic Dressing

¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing

This dressing is the same as the Honey Balsamic described above. Add 1 tablespoon poppy seeds and a ½ teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

Jam Vinaigrette

3/4 cup jam, strawberry or blackberry work well
1/4 cup canola Oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

The calendar says we’re still in spring for another month, but it’s full-on summer to me. Shorts, flip flops, and corn on the cob. There is nothing like a golden cob of corn with that sweet pop of flavor to bring me right back to a summer state of mind.

When I was a kid, we used to spend big chunks of June and July on my grandparents’ farm in Iowa. My grandpa would set up a propane burner at the edge of the sweet corn patch and heat up a huge pot of water. He would wait until it was boiling before picking the best ears. All of us cousins would peel that corn as quickly as we could so that it was cooked as fresh as possible.

Eating outside on the lawn next to their farmhouse, it didn’t matter that butter dripped down our chins and onto our already dirty t-shirts. Grandpa would turn on the garden hose and we’d all jump around the sprinkler until we were clean(ish) and happy.

I overdid it a little at the market this week and bought way too much corn, but it looked so delicious I couldn’t help myself. Soon I’ll write about the best ways to grill corn on the cob, but today I’ve got an overabundance of leftovers and I’m going to write about Summer Corn Chowder instead.

Chowder in the summer might sound kind of strange, but it works. It’s a one-pot meal that doesn’t require an oven, so it won’t heat up your kitchen. Once this soup is made and simmering, cleanup is quick. It is also a very flexible recipe. Add cooked and shredded chicken or crab, or even leftover bratwursts. Top it with fresh garden tomatoes, herbs or croutons. Any vegetable that is ready from your garden or that look especially delicious at the farmer’s market can be added. Use your imagination!

This recipe lends itself to many variations. I almost always add crisp, crumbled bacon on top. The smokiness of the bacon highlights the sweetness of the corn. For added richness, sprinkle shredded cheddar or jack cheese on top.

If I’m feeling especially spicy, I will mince up a jalapeno pepper and sauté it with the onion and bell pepper. Or perhaps substitute an Anaheim pepper for the bell pepper.

 

I like to use leftover grilled corn for this recipe, but it works well with fresh corn. If neither are available, go ahead and use canned or frozen corn. It won’t be the same, but it will get you close.

To cut the kernels off the cob without making a huge mess, I set a big bowl down into my kitchen sink with a wet dishrag underneath the bowl to keep it from slipping. I set the corn into the bowl with its pointy end up and use a sharp knife to cut the corn off of the cob. I angle the pointy end of the corn slightly towards me so that if the knife slips it won’t do me any damage. If the cob is a little slippy in the bowl, set a wet paper towel under it, it’ll keep it in place. If you are new to this technique, start slow, you’ll get the hang of it!

I like to keep this recipe simple. In the summer, I don’t want to be in the kitchen any more time than necessary. I’d rather spend be playing frisbee or lounging in my hammock with a good book.

This recipe lets the flavor of the corn really come through. The lime juice and white wine give it a lift and the milk gives it a creaminess without making it the heavier kind of chowder you might like in the winter. I hope you enjoy it.

Summer Corn Chowder

• 6 ears of corn, grilled
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ¼ cup white wine
• 3 or 4 russet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and diced
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 ½ cups milk (I use whole, but any kind will work)
• chives or cilantro for garnish (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Remove the kernels from the ears of corn.

In a large, heavy pot melt butter over medium heat. Add the corn, onion and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and white wine and deglaze the pan.

Add the potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.

Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Add salt and pepper until it’s just right.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of chives or cilantro.

Enjoy!

 

It’s grilling season and here is one thing I’ve learned: when it comes to grilling, the sides you serve are as important as the main attraction.

One of my favorites is Mango Salsa. Sweet, a little spicy, and so colorful you’ll be singing that song from kindergarten about eating all of the colors of the rainbow.

This is fantastic as a dip with tortilla chips. The mango gives it a brighter note than tomatoes do in a standard salsa. It’s AMAZING on shrimp tacos and honestly, it’s great as a salad all by itself. A perfect vegan meal is this salsa with rice and black beans. You’ll never miss the meat. But try it on a turkey burger or spoon some over grilled salmon or ribs. The sweetness of the mango hits all the right notes against the smokiness of any grilled protein.

When peaches are in season substitute them for the mango. They won’t be as sweet, but they’ll be every bit as good.

I adapted my version from one I found at the National Mango Board (www.mango.org). The original recipe includes red bell pepper, but I find that green bell pepper gives a different flavor, so once in a while I go that direction.

The recipe below makes a small batch. I almost always triple it. I chop the pieces of mango larger if I’m planning on serving this salsa as a salad. If I want to eat it as a dip with tortilla chips I dice the mango much smaller.

Mango Salsa

• 1 mango, diced small
• 1/2 large bell pepper, diced small (green, red, orange, whatever color you like)
• 1/4 cup diced red onion, diced small
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. of your favorite hot sauce (or more if you like it hot)
• pinch sea salt
• 2-3 T finely chopped cilantro

Combine the mango, bell pepper, and onion in bowl. Whisk lime juice, olive oil, ground cumin, hot sauce and salt in small bowl and stir into the salsa. Add chopped cilantro and stir until combined.

This is best served fresh, but it’ll be just fine a day or two later.

That’s it, folks, my favorite fruit salsa.

Enjoy!