Would you share your favorite summer salad recipes?

The magic salad:

Black and White Bean Salad (Yield: 8–10 servings)

2 cans drained black beans (you can be pure and start with dried beans)
2 cans drained small white beans ( ditto)
1 can drained corn (or cook fresh corn and scrape, scrape, scrape)
1 C chopped red onion
1 C chopped red pepper
¼ C chopped cilantro (vital)

2 C. Cumin Vinaigrette (I use 1½) Use whisk for all mixing. Add EVOO last.

¼ C cider vinegar and ¼ C fresh lime juice
1 T dijon mustard
1 t freshly minced garic
1½ C EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste. (Kosher and ground).

Yummy home grown tomatoes in caprese salad. So simple, but so delicious. I have this as a meal at least once a week during the summer.

1)
Steam asparagus (or string beans or wax beans), Not too much, leave it crunchy
Chill
Drizzle with vinaigrette
Optional – garlic, bread crumbs, cold pasta

2)
Sliced tomatoes and mozzarella with fresh basil and a little olive oil
Update: “Caprese” is the name, thanks @syz !

Also:

Organic boiled red new potatoes cubed;
capers
raspberry vinaigrette (raspberry vinegar, a light oil, stone cut dijon mustard).
Decorate with fresh raspberries

Thawed frozen peas + grated sharp cheddar + mayonnaise + ground fresh pepper + oregano + a big bowl and a lot of mixing + refrigeration overnight = awesomeness.

@gailcalled Little potatoes make the world go ‘round. Seriously, the world’s best food.

@syz: Please tell me you are not harvesting tomatoes yet. I planted my 6” fledglings yesterday.

@Fiddle Playing Creole Bastard; Shelling fresh peas is so easy. I bought some today and ended up eating them raw. Who needs mayo or cheese?

@fiddle I love pea salad…..
strawberries in salad with balsamic
watermelon
huumus

freeze your grapes…..
olives in the caprese

Chicken Salad

braised or grilled chicken breast
chopped celery
halved green grapes
slivered almonds
mayo
lemon juice
sea salt
Beaumonde or Bon Appetite spice

Ooooh….you guy’s!

Have a coconut grilled cod on the bbq now with an english cuke, tomato, black olive & red wine vinegarette salad with a baguette and spinache dip happening as I type!

I want it all…right now!

Might be the champagne and pomegranite juice cocktails whetting my appetite! lol

I love this question!!! Any mix of organic greens (spicy arugula lately), carrots, cukes, and roasted red peppers, sliced flavored almonds (like italian parmesan, or honey roasted) with some sort of cheese (laughing cow is the new one) along with a light lemon & evoo dressing.

i also have my standard cole slaw: mayo, vinegar, s&p, sugar, and a package of slaw.

then there’s the mango salsa: mango, red onion, tomato, avocado if you so choose, evoo, s&p—- great on grilled chicken!

then there’s the bean salad that has a cumin vinegarette dressing… exactly what @gailcalled said… it’s amazing and everyone always loves it. i tend to add lots of cilantro and more cumin. do not put the dressing on the salad until you are ready to eat it, the beans absorb everything

@Samantha_Rae

Oh man..cole slaw…yes!

Try cashew halves in your cole slaw..heavenly!

1 med. onion, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 leek, white part only OR 3 scallions, white part only
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
6 parsley sprigs OR 1½ tbsp. dried
12 black peppercorns
Salt
3 whole chicken breasts, about 3 lbs.
⅓ c. best quality olive oil
2 tsp. dried oregano
Juice of 1 sm. lemon (use ½ lemon, taste and use more if desired)
1 cup dried plums, halved
2 tbsp. capers, drained
¼ lb. green beans, cooked
Salt and fresh pepper to taste

Measure 4 cups water in large kettle, add onion, carrots, leeks or scallions, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns and salt to taste. Bring to boil and simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Add chicken, return to boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered until chicken is done, about 20 minutes. Let chicken cool in broth. Remove chicken (save broth for soup!) Discard skin and pull meat from bones. Tear meat into large pieces and combine in a bowl with olive oil and oregano. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Add remaining ingredients, toss and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add green beans just before serving. This is great for a picnic. Serve with fresh French bread and fruit.

1.)
Peeled and sliced ribbed cucumber
Quartered ripe tomatoes
Halved marinated black & green olives
Minced fresh dill
Feta or fresh mozerella chunks
Meyer lemon juice
Cracked black pepper
Ground red pepper powder

2.)
Tri colored spiral pasta sauteed in chicken broth
Cubed avocado
Cubed mozerella
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced marinated artichoke hearts
Pitted black olives
Sliced celery
A bit of clam base mixed in with homemade mayonnaise
Greens of romaine hearts

the best spices are at www.penzeys.com

Spice makes everything right.

I’m with @syz on the caprese salad! It’s on of my all-time favorites. Each summer I look forward to picking my tomatoes and basil so I can have some. One summer, my sister-in-law and I even made our own mozzarella cheese for salad. Delicious!

@Samantha_Rae: You reminded me that I left the cumin out of my cumin-lime vinaigrette. Edit:Add cumin to taste. A little goes a long way.

Re: dressing. We eat the bean salad as left-overs, already dressed. People take it home in jars. It improves with age, we find.

What a fantastic pot luck get together we would have.

Awesome sharings everyone!

I am writing down all your recipes now! :-)

Simple cucumber salad: Slice cucumbers thin and add oil and vinegar (I use grapeseed oil and rice and apple cider vinegar—heavy on the vinegar whatever you use) and scallions. The longer it soaks the better. Mmmm.

I came to add my favorite, and it turns out that @sliceswiththings already did. I like a bit of fresh dill, salt & pepper in my cucumber salad also.

Now that all the salads and healthy stuff have been given, to end it off, may i give a yummy summer dessert???

1 can condensedmilk
¾ cup lemon juice
1 can (20 ounce) crushed pineapple,drained
1 can (16 ounce) whole berry cranberry sauce
½ cup pecan nuts
1 8-ounce container of whipped topping

Mix everything (EXCEPT whipped topping) together.
Fold in whipped topping and pour into a dish and freeze (good if frozen overnight).

It’s my favourite hot summer day dessert. :D

@NaturallyMe

I’ll have to try that!

Right now it is Blackberry heaven in my neck o’ the woods.

In the middle of a heat wave and last night I made heaping bowls of lightly frozen fresh Blackberries with blackberry yogurt..OMG!

You can grate raw beets, (peel first), add chopped walnuts, a little fresh mint and arrange on torn romaine lettuce and watercress. Dress with EVOO, some fresh orange juice and some fresh lemon juice.

Photo and recipe here

@Coloma – how lovely!!! :D

Oh I have a graceful recipe I hope you will enjoy,
The Sweet and Vinegar Summer Salad
– Dry organic Spinach leaves , 2 cups
– 2 tablespoons of sweet honey mustard salad dressing
– 2 tablespoons of vinegar
– 1 teaspoon of olive oil
– 1 cup of diced tomatos
– 1 cup of chopped onions
There you go!

Mmmm..sounds great!

I discovered this yesterday.

Thinly sliced cucumbers
Thinly sliced red onions
Raspberry vinaigrette.

@gailcalled

Yummy!

Oh looking at galicalleds recipe I remembered that I forgot 1 ingredient!
– Thickly diced and salted cucumbers
( and thx it does taste preety good)