We have not been having lovely May weather this past week.
It’s been much more like nasty March weather.
It’s been cold and gray and windy.
No rain…. It’s actually been very dry and I have to water everything.
The tomatoes and beans and squashes are not happy.
But the lettuce and the spinach are ecstatic. They love cool weather.
I’d rather be eating salads on hot summer days, but eating freshly picked salads on cool windy days is still pretty darn nice.
I used a mix of leaf lettuce and spinach in this salad. I like the combination of flavors and colors,
Shrimp and Spinach Salad, with Asparagus & Radishes
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12oz (360gr) shrimp, cleaned
- 8oz (240gr) asparagus, cut into 2″ (5cm) lengths
- 1/2 cup sliced radishes
- 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 12 small mozzarella balls, cut in half
- 6oz (180gr) spinach and lettuce, mixed
- 2 tbs fresh, snipped basil
- 2 tbs fresh, snipped chives
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Vinaigrette:
- 2 tsp Dijon-style mustard
- 1 tbs ketchup
- 1 tbs Balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbs salad olive oil
Instructions:
- Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add asparagus and sauté until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
- Remove and set aside.
- Add remaining 2 tsp olive oil and paprika. Sauté 1/2 minute.
- Add shrimp and quickly sauté until cooked through. They will curl and turn opaque when done.
- Remove and set aside.
- Vinaigrette:
- Whisk mustard, ketchup and vinegar together in a large salad bowl.
- Gradually whisk in olive oil until thick.
- To finish:
- Toss greens, herbs with vinaigrette, mixing well.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, toss lightly and serve.
Speaking of salads……
In between spring cleaning and planting the gardens and weeding and hoeing and watering I decided I needed to do a summer cook book.
What’s more summery than salads?
This time of year, when the spinach and lettuces are at their peak we eat salad most days for lunch and two or three times each week as a main course for dinner.
Of course we also eat them as a first course or a quick side dish.
We eat a lot of salads…..
When the lettuce and spinach are finished we switch to pasta and grain salads.
And we can’t forget the picnic salads and potato salads and, and, and…..
Here are some of our favorite Salads.
At the moment it’s only available as an e-book (Kindle, iPad, etc.) but the paper version should be available by the end of the week.
Need some new Salads for Summer? (hint, hint)
Last update on May 24, 2015
So many in season foods I this one! You love salad as much as we do.
I love salads too though I am a bit wary here about getting sick. I would probably not eat one in a rural area here in Morocco.
We also love salads and when camping in rural Africa always use Milton to sterlize fruit and vegetables that need it. – 1/2 cap (15ml) to 2.5 l water. Immerse fruit and veg for 15 min. Rinse, using cool, boiled or filtered water if the water supply is dodgy. My mother always used to add a tip of a teaspoon of Condy’s Crystals ( potassium permanganate) to the water in the days before Milton! I have never been sick from eating a salad prepared at home.
Tanna, we only eat it in the spring / early summer… Then I grow too much and that is all we eat for about 6 weeks LOL
Kate, it’s rarely something I eat out…. And the only in the summer. But we eat lots at home
Gill, I’m spoiled, I guess. I’ve never had to think about sterilizing anything. Always had good water. I should say I’m fortunate.