Mix It Up!

It’s that time of year for salads.  And how I love the mix and match of making them—easy put-together adventures for hot, and sometimes smokey, summer evenings.  

These last two weeks, we’ve had a couple of fun combos.  Each offered varied tastes, textures and colors.

From a local pizzeria, I had

🍴Insalata Napoli:

spinach, artichoke hearts, grilled chicken, penne pasta, red peppers, red onion, and a vinaigrette dressing. (I’d add sliced black olives and some walnuts for a few more color and texture hits.)

From another local restaurant there were two salads that were delish:

🍴Salmon Strawberry Salad

grilled salmon, sliced strawberries, dried cherries, candied pecans, goat cheese, on mixed greens with a white balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

🍴Chicken and Avocado Salad

grilled chicken, avocado, smoked Provolone cheese, toasted almonds, roasted corn kernels, pieces of Medjool dates, cornbread croutons (very fun!), on power greens with honey lime vinaigrette.

And for an on-the-lawn picnic for an outdoor music concert, we enjoyed a

🍴Caesar Salad

grilled chicken, croutons, Romaine lettuce, spinach, Parmesan cheese, pieces of tomato and avocado with a classic Caesar dressing.

Friends chimed in with two of their favorite salad offerings.

🍴Fresh Vege Salad

English cucumber,  corn kernels, tomato, sweet pepper, red onion, avocado, Feta cheese, micro greens and an apple cider vinegar dressing.

🍴Quinoa Salad

quinoa, green onion, corn kernels, grapes halved, Chèvre or Mozzarella cheese, chopped basil, toasted sunflower seeds and vinaigrette dressing.  Marinated cherry tomatoes make for a nice accompaniment.

SO…the beat goes on with the creativity and fun of this mix and match summer salad fest. And you?  I wonder what your favorite “go-to” summer salad is.  I’d love to know!