Summer Salad Trio

Summer time at our house means less time in the kitchen, lots of time in the garden and salads for dinner. There’s a couple new summer salads we’ve really enjoyed so far this year. All three of these are new additions to our repertoire.

The Lima Bean Artichoke Salad came from my lovely cousin Rachel. A couple years ago at Christmas the girl cousins did a recipe swap and purchased one kitchen gadget. It was loads of fun. She gave me a meat tenderizer and several great recipes. When I made this salad, I looked forward to leftovers for the next day’s lunch. 

Lima Bean Artichoke Salad

3 cups frozen lima beans (calls for fava, but I used lima)
32 kalamata olives (this number made me laugh, but I did stand at the olive bar at the store and count out 32)
2 jars marinated quartered artichokes, drained
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
4 tsp parsley, finely chopped
Black pepper

Cook lima beans for 4 minutes in boiling H20. Rinse under cold water. Mix beans, olives, artichoke hearts with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Chill and enjoy!

A friend of mine, Leah, recommended this cookbook called Celebrating the Seasons at Westerbeke Ranch, and it has not disappointed. I’ve made this Caesar Salad (a bit modified from the cookbook) about a dozen times now in the past 2 months. Randy asks for it at least once a week.

Classic Caesar Salad

2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup good olive oil
Romaine lettuce

Place garlic, 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese, the Worchestershire sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, egg yolk, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth, about 10 seconds. With the motor running, add oil in a thin stream until it is fully incorporated. Cut romaine lettuce, toss with dressing and remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.

Randy’s cousin, Valerie was in from Puerto Vallarta and my brother and his lovely Aussie girlfriend, Alice, were staying at our home too. Naturally, we made a feast. Had to celebrate having everyone here.

Randy picked this recipe out of the latest Food and Wine magazine. I love that he finds recipes for me to make. At first, I thought – how silly, it’s TOO simple. But that’s the beauty of this salad. It’s incredibly simple, yet delicious.

Avocado Onion Salad

4 ripe avocados, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Arrange sliced avocados on a platter topped with red onion slices, drizzle lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper.