Summer calls for enjoying the great outdoors. Few things are as relaxing and enjoyable as enjoying a delicious meal on the patio, deck, or backyard after you've prepared part or all of it outside as well. This very experience was recently enjoyed when spicy-sweet grilled chicken found itself alongside a gorgeous salad brimming with fresh fruit and tangy-sweet mojitos featuring fresh mint from the patio garden. It was a meal to behold:
So, for the rest of the week, I'll be sharing the recipes for the various parts of this fun dinner. We'll begin with the festive salad that graced the table. Chock full of fresh strawberries and blueberries and drizzled with a sweet and tangy lemon-honey mustard dressing, it also gets another dose of tang from creamy chèvre and some crunch from slivered almonds. When you pair all of that with fresh mixed greens from the CSA box, it's really bound to be delicious:
You could opt to use other fruits, cheese, or nuts, but I found this combination to be just perfect. It really is the sort of salad that's just meant to be paired with glorious days. Here's hoping the summer has many of those in store for us all. Enjoy and come back in a couple of days to get the recipe for the fresh lemon-blueberry mojitos we enjoyed alongside this meal. 'Til then!
Glorious Days Salad
- 12 oz. mixed salad greens -- cleaned and dried
- 5-6 large strawberries -- cleaned, hulled, and cut into quarters or sixths
- 1/2 c. blueberries -- cleaned
- 3 oz. chèvre -- crumbled
- 2 T. sliced almonds
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 T. honey mustard
- 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
- Lemonade -- for thinning, if needed
In a large serving bowl, combine the greens, fruit, cheese, and nuts. Keep it chilled until serving time.
Meanwhile, combine the lemon juice, honey mustard, and oil in a small resealable bottle. Shake vigorously to form a dressing. If it needs thinning, use a little lemonade to do so. Serve the salad drizzled with the dressing.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 15 minutes