Summer Salad

This Summer salad is very easy to assemble, but you can find all these ingredients ready to go at Trader Joe's if you have one.

These ingredients create a cooling and balanced meal or side dish with enough heat to kindle digestion. With added protein, this becomes a full meal.

Equipment Needed:

Knife

2- Mixing bowls

Whisk

Steamer pot (optional)

Roasting pan (optional)

Ingredients (basics)- see options below

Butter or Romaine Lettuce

Cucumber

Avocado

Optimal Additions:

Vegetables (steamed or roasted): Green beans, asparagus, summer squashes, or new potatoes.

Vegetables (fresh): There are many additions, some requiring a bit more heating, but great additions: sweet summer tomatoes, Belgian endive, radicchio, radishes, artichokes, and even celery hearts.

Vegetarian Proteins: Toasted pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and white or moong beans.

Animal proteins: Trout or white meat, chicken or turkey.

Yummy Dressing:

You can buy different kinds of dressing for this salad, but a cooling one would be with cilantro or tarragon, which you can find at most stores. Trader Joe's has a cilantro dressing. Below is a homemade dressing I like:

Jeff's Summer Dressing                                                           

Ingredients

1-2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard                            

4 oz. olive oil                                          

2-3 oz. of fresh lime juice (cooling) or replace it with vinegar (heating).     

Maple syrup to taste (this also cuts the acidity)                                                       

1-4 tablespoons of chopped tarragon or cilantro        

Salt to taste                                                                        

Pepper to taste                                                                 

Instructions:

1. Chop the fresh herbs and set aside to use later.

2. Place a wet towel on your countertop (so the bowl does not move).

3. Place the Dijon mustard in the bowl.

4. SLOWLY whisk in the oil, making it a smooth and thick liquid (if it breaks, you would have to start over)

5. Next, slowly add the lime juice or vinegar and, if you like, a small amount of maple syrup (maple is cooling, and honey is heating) to balance the flavors.

6. Add chopped tarragon or cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

 Pumpkin Seeds, Toasted

Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

Place the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet or in a sauté pan and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until brown. Be careful not to burn; set a timer for 5-minute intervals.  

Assemble the Salad

1.      Place a pot of hot water on the stove, add salt, and blanch the green beans or asparagus in boiling water for 1 minute. Then, immediately place them in cold water (you can use ice in water) to stop the cooking process and make them just done and a bit crunchy (al dente).

2.     You can buy cleansed butter or romaine lettuce at the store or prep the lettuce yourself.

3.     Tear the lettuces into sizes you prefer pieces.

4.     During the summer, you can find really nice tomatoes at the farmers market store and cut them into appropriate sizes.

5.     cut the cucumber into dice or slices, depending on your liking.

6.     Cut the avocado into desired sizes and toss in lime juice or dressing to prevent browning.

8.     Toss all the ingredients together with the dressing.