5 Favorite Summer Salads

This summer Jeremy and I have been enjoying daily homemade salads. We've been experimenting with different combination and I thought I would share a few of our favorites with you! 

Tomato + Basil Salad/ I made this salad on a bed of spinach and arugula. It has pesto mixed in, a splash of balsamic vinegar, fresh basil leaves, local tomatoes and chopped macadamia nuts. I love this one because I'm on a basil kick! 

Artichoke + Apple Salad/ This salad is served on a bed of Arugula (my fave) and it has granny smith apples (half and apple, sliced), sunflower seeds, sesame seeds blue cheese dressing and artichoke hearts. It's delicious. 

Blue Cheese and Peas Salad/ This salad is on a bed of spinach and butter lettuce. It has blue cheese dressing, avocados, tomatoes, sesame seeds and peas. (i LOVE peas!)

Curry + Fig Kale Salad/ I never thought I would grow to love raw kale, but it happened! I love raw kale most when it is marinated in a salad dressing for an hour or two. This is a good salad to make in advance and then refrigerate. My favorite salad dressing is Curry + Fig by Salad Girl. Also in this salad is a little spinach, broccoli and tomatoes. 

Hearts of Palm + Pesto Salad/ This salad is simply arugula (see a trend? i'm obsessed), tomatoes and hearts of palm with pesto mixed in. So yummy! 

I don't see our salad obsession ending anytime soon. Do you have a favorite recipe? Please share. XO elsie 

Comments

[Kayla]

My favorite salad has mixed greens, quinoa and lentils, chickpeas, edamame, avocado, onions and fresh herbs, and a jalapeno vinaigrette. The shop down the street from my work calls it their "Be Well" salad. It is beyond incredible!

Kayla ☆ www.kaylanaut.com

[Jess Cafferty]

Thank you so much for these lovely recipes! The second one looks amazing and I'm sure I'll be making it in the next couple days.

My favorite salad comes from a restaurant called Cube in LA. I used to work there, and it was all I ate during the summer. It's super simple: Slice fresh yellow peaches, heirloom tomatoes, and mozzarella (buffalo is best!),and layer them, then top with some basil, good olive oil,a little balsamic reduction, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

It doesn't need anything extra because when the ingredients are in season, all the flavors come together perfectly. I think it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. Occasionally we top it with a little prosciutto (I have a photo on my blog).

Xo.

[Carolyn]

The best guilt-free dressing ever is a couple of fresh mangos pureed in a food processor with a bit (anywhere from 1/4 tsp to a whole tsp depending on personal taste) of ground cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. I was skeptical of it, thinking that it wouldn't be dressing-y enough without some olive oil or vinegar, but it really works.

Love to have it drizzled (liberally because it's guilt-free) over spinach/baby greens with some chopped cucumber, green pepper, red onion, dried cranberries, almonds, shredded cheddar cheese, and (because my husband doesn't consider salad a dinner unless there is meat too) grilled chicken strips.

[Jess Cafferty]

Oops! I think I deleted my first comment, so I'm sorry if this shows up twice. Thank you so much for the lovely recipes, the second one looks amazing and I'm definitely going to make it soon.

My favorite salad comes from Cube, a restaurant in LA that I used to work at. It's just fresh yellow peaches, heirloom tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella layered, then topped with olive oil, balsamic reduction, basil, and a little salt and pepper. Occasionally when my husband makes it for me, he tops it with prosciutto. It's so simple, but when those ingredients are in season all the flavors come together perfectly, and I think it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. (I have a photo somewhere on my blog)...

Good luck with your adventures in salad-making!

[neha @ nehamade]

I love salads! Sadly, I'm one of those people that finds ONE recipe I like, and then never makes anything different, haha. I should try one of these for dinner tonight! Yum! :)

neha
http://nehamade.blogspot.com/

[Viveca Johansen]

I'm not the salad-type, but when I do get the crave for a good salad, I love to mix iceberg salad, cucumbers, avocado, a splash of chili-powder, youghurt, pepper and salt - and if possible, some pine-seeds or sunflower-seeds. I'm really picky and I don't like bell-peppers, tomatoes and a lot of salad-types, so this is my fool-proof combo!

http://stainsofpaint.blogspot.com/

[Miss K]

Beautiful and healthy. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Julia]

all those tomatoes look great, but... avocado salad seems to be the best! looks really yummy. I love avocado especially in sushi:)
Julia
http://www.thesheerstories.blogspot.com/

[Jessica]

Yummmm
This is exactly what I needed to read, my salads are getting so boring as of late.
Great post :) x

The Lovelorn

[Alisa]

arugula, grapefruit, toasted almonds, grilled corn, blackberries and heirloom tomatoes with a lemon dill dressing. very summery!

[Martha]

I have only favorite salad recipes. Ok this is not true, but I have a lot of them, as salad is not something I can or want to eat the same way every day. But one of my favorites: baby spinach, corn salad, rocket leaves, blue cheese, walnuts, pear, and olive oil-lemon juice-mustard-salt-pepper dressing. Optional ingredients, which are great, but i don't always have all these stuff at home at a time: avocados, dried apricot or cranberries. We can swap the blue cheese to goat cheese, and the walnuts to pine seeds :) I ate this yesterday with freshly made pink duck-breast slices. mmmm

[kathrine Armstrong]

Beautiful salads! I must try the Artichoke + Apple Salad, looks yummy.

I made a post on my blog a few days ago about my favourite salad, Fattouch, I think you would like it, have a look :-)

http://notesfromrochester.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/fattouch-salad.html

Love Kathrine

[ruzu]

yummy!! I love salads in lunch hour, also I prefer a snack like soy milk with vegetables and fruits :D

[Kaitlyn]

I wish I could get my boy onto salads but his response is usually - Where's the meat? Haha. These all look delicious! I have a thing for bruschetta right now -- I'm making it all the time and putting it on everything from pizza to salads to pasta.

PS. Elsie I'm sooo enjoying reading about your house hunting and things on your Everyday ELsie blog! Congrats! :)

[Freya]

My mom is famous for making a heirloom tomato salad. It's literally just home grown heirlooms, drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh basil. LOVE it. Fish off with a chunk of crusty bread? You're set :)

[vivik]

Mmm these look so yummy! I love a turkey salad with chick peas and lots of peppers and organic greens.. :)

http://vivikstyle.blogspot.com

[Elizabeth Beattie]

I love make up a cobb salad bar and then we all pile on the toppings that we like and skip the ones we don't. I usually offer up hard boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, chopped celery, chopped bell pepper, corn, peas, onion, etc... then we top it with our favorite blue cheese dressing. I also really enjoy hitting the salad bar at our local natural foods market. I go there last when I am grocery shopping and make sure to make a big salad for us to share when I get home for lunch.

I think I need to blog about this! :)

[shannon]

Blue Cheese and Peas salad please! :)

http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/

[Laia]

Lettuce mix, chopped walnuts and sweet corn with a honey, olive oil and modena vinegar vinagrette, simple and delicious! And another favourite of mine, alvocado, a can of tuna and some mayo, incredibly tasty with crakers but has lots of calories so better not abuse!

[Anna Lisa]

Hi! I am visiting your blog for the first time and I love it already and am looking forward to further exploration :) how can I subscribe to this blog??? Maybe my excitement is preventing me from seeing a subscribe option?? Thank u!