Summer Eating
Dudes, any barbecues this weekend? If not, please organize one stat. Summer is going by so fast and there is no time like the present to enjoy all sorts of lovely warm weather foodstuffs. Now, normally I'm content only to wrap myself in a blanket made of bacon, but SO many fruits and vegetables are ripe, vibrant and crazy bursting with flavor right now that I just can't resist them. Here's some simple salads I've thrown together lately that you should try. Trust me, I'm not exactly Julia Child, Jr., so they won't be time-consuming enough to interfere with your chiling out, maxing and relaxing. Maybe one of them would do well alongside your burgers, chicken and corn on the 4th?
Avocado and Grapefruit:

This is the most labor-intensive of the bunch but it is well, well worth it. I'd pretty much rather do anything else than peel and slice fruits. It is the epitome of yawnsville, but I did it and I will do it again for this "sashimi" style row of beauty. The dressing is a simple mix of olive oil, grapefruit juice and grainy mustard. Slosh that over your slices, top with sea salt and coarse-ground pepper and you are good as gold. Do you know how good this stuff is? I'm not really an avocado fan. I'm not really a grapefruit fan, either (though I'll take a fresh Ketel greyhound any time, please). And I still think this is the bomb.
Sugar Snap Pea & Radish
This one's good to make with a friend because there's few things more conducive to having a friendly chat than snapping the ends off some crisp sugar snap peas. Plus, each person can tolerate cutting two pea pods in half lengthwise so you'll have enough to garnish the top of the salad and make yourself look good. Trust me, it's so annoying you won't want to halve more than a handful. What's in this baby: the peas, radishes, cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and fresh chopped mint. A wee bit of dill or tarragon, if you have it. What type of cheese? Feta is best, but blue or queso fresco will also do. I used queso fresco, because of the deep and abiding love I have for it. The radishes are best as thin as you can get them and a mandolin will serve you well in your effort to get papery slices. It will also chop the end of your finger off if you are an idiot like yours truly. Hint: do not serve severed finger parts in your salad.
Summer Berry Mix

Eat as many berries now as you can, kiddos, because soon they will be woefully bland and depressing. A winter berry craving (and we're lucky we even get berries in the winter in California) will have you paying five dollars or more for a tiny box of what basically amounts to colored water. Take any of your favorite summer berries and fruit, add some fresh mint, drizzle with local honey and spoon this stuff over a few cheese cubes, Greek yogurt, ice cream, pound cake (or ice-cream topped pound cake, uh-huh, that's right) and you'll have the perfect light post-bbq dessert salad. You can't go wrong with the classic blueberries and raspberries here. Other recommended pairings: kiwi + strawberries, peach + blackberries. Simple as can be, but there are few things better, I promise you. Now, grab me another beer--let's play some horseshoes!





































