Zesty Lime Shrimp & Avocado Salad

Summer has arrived, and with the heat comes simple fresh meals served with tart lemonade and buckets of beer. I adore summer evenings, sitting outside and watching the fireflies light up the yard, and nibbling on my favorite tomato basil mozzarella salad with a glass of crisp white wine and a chunk of fresh baguette. Summer is a season of simplicity, with days at the pool followed by evenings on the patio. Charlie checks out for bedtime at 730, and Josh and I move out to the deck to enjoy the evening hours. It's divine.

I've been fixing us my go-to summer salads, and tossing them with bright acidic dressings and freshly chopped herbs. This avocado shrimp salad is new to my summer repertoire, and pairs perfectly with a corona light and a few tortilla chips. 

Zesty Lime Shrimp & Avocado Salad
from Skinnytaste

1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 limes, juice of
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 lb jumbo cooked and peeled shrimp, chopped
1 medium tomato, diced
1 medium hass avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced fine
1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combine the red onion, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let the onion marinate for 5 minutes to mellow the flavor. 

In a large bowl, combine chopped shrimp, avocado, tomato, and jalapeno. Add the red onion mixture and cilantro and gently toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Cucumber Salad

I made this simple salad to go with the Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas, using the cucumbers I picked from my mom's garden in South Carolina. I would have loved the salad regardless, but picking the cucumbers myself made it extra special. I think most gardeners would agree that vegetables taste better when you grow them with love in your own backyard.  

Cucumber Salad
adapted from Ellie Krieger

2 pounds cucumbers
1 small white onion
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1. Slice the cucumbers lengthwise, remove seeds, and slice thinly. Then thinly slice the onion.
2. In a colander, toss the cucumber and onion with salt and allow to drain for 20 minutes. Press the liquid out of the vegetables and rinse with cold water.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar and sugar and stir well. Add the cucumber mixture and toss to coat. Stir in the dill. Refrigerate prior to serving.

SALAD night #1

I instituted a new house rule tonight, which I shared with Joshua AFTER he polished off my leftovers. You could either say I tricked him, or I played my cards just right. Of course I feel it was the latter. 

Are you ready? Allow me to introduce SALAD NIGHT to the Salmon household! I'm going to start spelling it SaLmon so that people don't think I married a fish. Not Sammon. SaLmon. 

This salad is phenomenal. Here are a few insider tips: allow your chicken to rest. After pulling the chicken off the grill pan, I wrapped it in foil for ten minutes before dicing it. Truly, this is the difference between super moist chicken or dry chicken. It's totally worth the ten minutes. Also, rather than glopping the dressing on top, take a second and toss the spinach with the dressing. This way, the salad is perfectly coated but not soggy. The bleu cheese crumbles on top really shine with this light vinaigrette. 

I'm hopeful I can craft a salad next week that we both love as much as this one! 

California Cobb Salad
serves 2

5 oz baby spinach (split between two bowls)
bleu cheese crumbles (about a handful on each salad)
grilled chicken, diced (2 breasts)
4 strips bacon (2 strips per salad)
1 avocado

Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Season chicken breasts and grill. (I used a grill pan and Zatarain's blackening seasoning). After grilling, wrap chicken in foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Dice before adding to salad.

2. Cook bacon in a cast iron skillet and crumble. (if you don't own a cast iron skillet, this recipe is the perfect excuse to purchase one! I love my Lodge brand skillet.)
3. Split the spinach between two salad bowls. Pour dressing over each salad and toss.
4. Top in pretty strips with bleu cheese crumbles, chicken, bacon, and diced avocado. Serve immediately. 

Wedding Salad

Tonight, I made the first meal for Josh as his WIFE! Clearly I had to make salmon, and what would be better than baked salmon and the salad our caterer served at the wedding, which was the hit of the night! I had at least 20 people tell me that night or the next day how much they loved this salad. 

Beatriz Ball salad bowl and tongs

Unfortunately, given the popularity of this salad my caterer keeps the recipe top secret. Thankfully, I remembered every ingredient (broccoli florets, sunflower seeds, craisins) and after spending a little time in the online cooking world, I found a recipe that matched exactly. Though we served the salad without bacon at our reception, the salad usually has bacon bits in addition to the other ingredients. 

I had so much fun tonight playing with my new kitchen-themed wedding gifts. My Wisconsin family surprised me with SIX handmade crafted metal serving pieces made by Beatriz Ball (the salad bowl is pictured above), which are stunning and rustic and totally my style. I also used my new set of hand crafted kitchen knives, made from cocobolo wood and damascus steel blades that sit on a magnetic butcher block. 

My brother and his wife surprised us with a case of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars from Napa, and I made our salmon rubbed with the blood orange olive oil. These photos are all taken with my new 100mm macro lens. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. The greatest part of our wedding was being surrounded by the people I love the most. My family and friends traveled all the way from Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida, California, and Georgia to spend the weekend with us. My cousin and his wife even spent 12 hours in the car with a baby to be at our wedding. 

I realized earlier today how much love I have in my heart to share, and how the feeling of being loved is the best feeling in the entire world. 

Wedding Salad
spinach, broccoli, sunflower seeds, craisins, in creamy dressing
adapted from all recipes

4 cups spinach, rinsed and torn into bite size pieces
1 head broccoli, rinsed and chopped with florets only
1/3 cup craisins
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (salted)
1/3 cup finely diced red onion

Dressing
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 tsp of each)

Combine ingredients in large salad bowl. Whisk together dressing, pour over salad, and toss well. 

Quinoa Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Even if it's snowing inches outside right now, I've declared it Spring inside my house. That means I am wearing pretty pastel cardigans, buying Sauvignon Blanc at the store, and smiling at this quite funny April Fools joke. Yes, it is really snowing on April the 4th, in Virginia. In the words of my great friend Katie Jo, "what the"!!!

                         

In the spirit of Spring and warm flip flop weather, I have made a quinoa fruit salad to bring to my work friends tomorrow. I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs (Two Peas in Their Pod) and it is light and healthy and fresh and a great reminder that beautiful weather is coming!

Quinoa Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
from Two Peas in their Pod
*I doubled the recipe, and used fuji apples instead of mangoes

1 cup red quinoa (dry)
2 cups water
pinch salt

Dressing:
3 Tbsp honey
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp chopped mint

Fruit:
2 cups blueberries
2 cups strawberries
2 cups mango (I used apple)
Extra mint for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions, cool to room temperature
2. Make honey lime dressing (whisk together lime juice, honey, and mint)
3. Combine quinoa and fruit. Pour dressing over the fruit salad and mix until well combined. Garnish with additional mint. Serve at room temperature.

By all means, substitute your favorite fruits into this salad.  I think peaches, raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, or grapes would be stellar! 

Simple Salad with Spinach, Salmon, and Quinoa

After a long and wonderful weekend in South Carolina, where I greatly enjoyed a redneck cheeseburger from the NuWay (best dive bar in Spartanburg), homemade Italian wedding soup, pork tenderloin with soba noodles, delicious bridal shower food, and a few glasses of red wine, I felt the pressure to cook something healthy for dinner tonight. Vacation is over, but fortunately this salad is so good Joshua won't complain that he's getting salad for dinner! 

This recipe is from Candice Kumai, is super easy, and full of nutrients and protein. 

Simple Salmon + Quinoa + Spinach Salad
from Candice Kumai, click here
serves 2

2 Cups baby spinach 
1/2 Cup uncooked quinoa
1 Cup chicken stock (optional)
2- 5 oz salmon fillets
1/4  cup  thinly sliced red onion
¼ C Extra virgin olive oil 
¼ C Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey

For  the Easy  Vinaigrette: 

Whisk together ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ Cup balsamic vinegar, and honey.

1. Preheat broiler
2. Bring water or chicken stock (1 cup) to a boil and cook the quinoa,  strain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. While quinoa cooks, sprinkle fillet evenly with sea  salt . Place fish on a foil-lined broiler pan coated with a drizzle of olive oil. Broil on high for 10 minutes, until fish is opaque and firm to the touch. Gently break the salmon into a large mixing bowl flaky pieces with a fork.
4. Toss salmon, quinoa, spinach, red onion  and balsamic vinaigrette in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Divide into two large salad bowls and serve immediately. 

Cranberry Quinoa Salad

I thought this would be one of those "chick only" salads that girls adore but boys scoff at. I mean,  no meat and craisins?  I must confess, I was surprised when Josh texted me today to tell me how much he liked it. I also feel obligated to disclose that I always cook quinoa in chicken stock! After all, I am not a veg-only kind of girl. 

Cranberry Quinoa Salad
from Can You Stay For Dinner, serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
1 ½ cups chicken broth (according to quinoa instructions)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp EVOO
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp chopped italian parsley
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp red bell pepper, finely chopped
¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds
¾ cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions; set aside to cool.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the fresh lemon juice, honey, and olive oil. Add the salt.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa with the parsley, scallions, bell peppers, sunflower seeds, and cranberries. Pour the lemon juice dressing over the top and toss to coat well. 
4. Serve immediately at room temperature or cover and chill to serve cold. The salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.