Summertime and salads seem to go hand in hand, at least in my mind. I don’t just mean your quintessential salad made of lettuce, some cut up veggies and tossed in a boring dressing; I mean colorful, refreshing, creative salads made with all different types of ingredients — pasta, veggies, fruit, beans, etc.
Food is such an important part of summertime for me because it can be so light and refreshing, but still filling and satisfying. I love experimenting with different flavor combinations and textures in my salads to keep them interesting. Some of my favorites include adding fruits or roasted vegetables for sweetness and depth of flavor, nuts or seeds for crunch, and herbs for brightness. Salads are the perfect way to enjoy all the seasonal produce available in the summer, and they can be easily tailored to your own preferences. So whatever you’re in the mood for, there’s sure to be a salad out there that will hit the spot!
I’ve already given you a bean salad and a quinoa salad, so now it’s time for a fruit salad! This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens. My friend, Traci, found the recipe for us to make for the girls night dinner at her sister’s (when I made my artichoke and white bean salad).
This is a great recipe to make for any get together, especially during the summer. The refreshing fruit flavors mixed with the zest of an orange and sweetness of sugar snap peas make for a perfect party dish. We made only one substitution, adding in blueberries instead of cashews. The result was delicious! The poppyseed dressing was the icing on the cake, adding just enough taste to the ingredients to bring out the yummy flavors of the honeydew, strawberries, blueberries, sugar snap peas and shredded orange peel tossed in with the pasta. Check out the recipe here.
My favorite part of this salad was the honeydew; the poppyseed dressing seemed to complement this fruit best. The nuts would have been a good addition, but my friend didn’t want to use them, so we opted against it. They probably make a nice addition to the salad, though. You need a little bit of salt and crunch to balance out the flavors. I’ll use them the next time I decide to make this dish… Summertime parties will (hopefully) be cropping up more frequently now, so I’ll have lots of excuses to cook!
