When the days are long and hot, the kind of hot that sticks to your body, the last thing you want to do at the end of the day is cook.
Growing up some of my favorite memories happened on those nights. We would order pizza, sit in the basement (we didn’t have central air… in MICHIGAN… death by humidity avoidance) and watch movies, relaxing in the cool refuge. My mom, in hopes of adding something somewhat healthy to the meal, would make a huge salad to accompany the meal (granted it was usually slathered in ranch or caesar dressing… so I’m not sure how healthy it really was).
Summer heat is wrapping it’s arms around Los Angeles, baking the city in dry desert air, which I will take over the swampy humidity of my childhood any day. Even though the heat is different, it is still oppressive, and by the time dinner rolls around the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven and transform our little apartment into a hot box! Thankfully the market down the street holds the perfect ingredients for a fresh, flavorful, summer salad, packed with delicious berries, nuts, avocado, and topped with a cool creamy dressing.
-SUMMER SALAD-
What you will need:
2 heads of your favorite lettuce (or a bag of mixed spring greens)
8 strawberries quartered
1/2 a medium red onion diced
1/2 a large avocado cubed
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup almonds
A hand full of your favorite tangy cheese (feta or goat crumbles are wonderful) I used Cana De Oveja, a soft sheeps cheese from Spain, and it is dreamy!
For the dressing:
1 Bellwether Farms Plain Sheep Milk Yogurt
1/4 cup Cana De Oveja cheese (feta would work great as well)
a hefty amount of fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
Rinse and dry lettuce well, place in a large bowl. Add toppings and serve! Allow everyone to add dressing to taste, it is rich and creamy and oh-so divine.
This salad feeds all of my summer cravings. It is fresh and bright, and brilliantly flavorful.
Stay cool this season and bon appétit!
xx
