Cool Summer Salads
Posted by terrepruitt on August 2, 2017
We are in a little heat wave. I just don’t like it. If it is over 75° F, I am uncomfortable. Today it is in the high 90’s. Maybe it is even hotter, it was in the 90’s the last I looked. I wish I would have planned for it. The last time I was home and we had super high temps I decided that we would be eating salads. Something I think of as “Summer Salads” although I had never done it before. I have heard about a salad where you mix onions and watermelon but I have never done it. In my last produce box we got a watermelon so I thought I would put some watermelon on our salad greens and we would have a summer salad. I did this even though I know my hubby does not like watermelon. I don’t know many people who don’t like watermelon, but he does not. But I don’t know of many things he really DOES NOT LIKE. He just doesn’t like it. As in he doesn’t go ga-ga over it like I do, or many people I know. So, I figured he would eat it, but he might not love it. I didn’t do the salad that I had mentioned, because when I say watermelon and onions, I mean just watermelon and onions . . . maybe something else, I don’t know, I looked it up so long ago . . . because I couldn’t believe it when I first heard about it. But I don’t remember if it was something else too. I have never risked making it and “wasting” watermelon. But this time I was really wanting something cool and refreshing because it was soooo hot. So I used watermelon and made a summer salad.
Another fruit I used was peaches. Now, I am the odd man out here . . . I don’t like peaches. I am like my hubby. I can eat them. And sometimes I do, but I don’t go ga-ga over them. I don’t seek them out. I will avoid them for the most part. My husband loves them. So I used peaches in my next “Summer Salad”. They were very yummy salads.
Another thing my husband does not like is balsamic dressing. Because he doesn’t like it, most of the time, when I use it I don’t put it on his salad, but with the watermelon one I felt like it really needed it. He has given me permission to use it when I think it really needs it. So I did, I just didn’t put that much on his. With the peach one, I put even less, because I didn’t think it was as important on the peaches as I did the watermelon. I figured with the watermelon one I was already “torturing” him with watermelon why not just make it the way it “should” be and put the balsamic on it.
I think he enjoyed both salads. I know I did. Now here I am on this hot, hot, hot, hot day wishing I had salad greens and some yummy fruit to make a nice salad. I think I will be going to the store tomorrow. Here are two versions of summer salads.
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Watermelon With Greens Salad
Watermelon
Arugula
Onions
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Cut the watermelon into bite-sized pieces. Chop up some onion . . . you decide how much you want to put on each salad. Put a couple of handfuls of arugula in each bowl, then top with fruit, and chopped onions. Sprinkle with some parmesan, the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Peaches With Greens Salad
Peaches
Red Leaf Lettuce
Arugula
Onions
Balsamic Vinegar*
Olive Oil
Salt**
Pepper
Cut the peaches into bite-sized pieces. Chop up some onion . . . you decide how much you want to put on each salad. Chop up the leaf lettuce. Put some leaf lettuce and a handful of arugula in each bowl, then top with fruit, and chopped onions. Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
*I actually used Fig Vinegar with , but balsamic would be just as yummy
**I actually used lavender salt, but regular salt will do the trick
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How about you? Do you put fruit on your greens? What kind of fruit? Do you put dressing on?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Frank Hubeny said
We use balsamic vinegar and olive oil as dressing, but no fruit, no salt or pepper. Some walnuts maybe.
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terrepruitt said
I use olive oil and balsamic or whatever vinegar, usually GARLIC salt, and no pepper. Sometimes I pepper my husband’s salad, but usually he eats it plain. Usually we just have a ton of veggies. In our summer salads that I have been making I have been putting fruit. They have been super yummy. We are enjoying the summer fruits!
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indianeskitchen said
Your salads look so refreshing! I don’t know why I never put fresh parmesan cheese on my salads! Thanks I have to do that from now on!
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terrepruitt said
They were refreshing. It had been so hot, I wanted something sweet and cool, and the pepperiness of the arugula made it perfect. Perhaps you had never thought of it! 🙂 And now that you have the idea – voila! Salads changed forever. It is nice because when you by the fixins’ for a salad (fresh veggies) you have to use them all up. So you could end up eating the same type of salad for a few days. But one nice with cheese, one night without . . . kinda helps mix it up a bit! 🙂
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indianeskitchen said
So many possibilities thanks for your inspiration!
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terrepruitt said
So many! Thank you!
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