Connor did not request this salad for his birthday dinner, but I needed something cool, refreshing, colorful, and healthy to add to the menu that was heavy with ribs and BBQ sauce.

I’d be happy eating this all summer long! Add some feta or goat cheese if you’d like. I left it out because those aren’t Connor’s favorite things, and on your birthday, you should never have to eat something you don’t like!

Summer Corn, Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Cilantro Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salad
16-ounce package frozen corn, thawed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2  English cucumber, diced
1/2 red onion, peeled and diced
2 avocados, diced

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I’m running behind in every aspect of my life. As a result I’ve got a quick salad for you, just in case you’re in the same boat.

Broccoli Slaw with Creamy Citrus Dressing

Dressing
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
Zest from 1 grapefruit
1 tablespoon grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon red pepper jelly
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Salad
1 package broccoli slaw
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing: Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, zest, grapefruit juice, jelly, mustard, and garlic together in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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Many of the guests at Tram’s Baby Shower had expressed interest in the recipes for the brunch food I served.  In fact, Tram commented that yesterday’s post was a “Cliffhanger” since so many of her friends were hoping for the recipes and I said that the recipes would be coming tomorrow.

That actually made me laugh. A Cliffhanger? Me?

No, I just have so much to share about the shower that I have to break it up into a week’s worth of posts. So, today I shall give you all the recipes!

It sounds more daunting than it actually is because all but one of the recipes have already been posted here on the blog. See, no Cliffhanger to be had. Most of them, I made exactly as previously written and a couple of the others – have a few tweaks. Let’s get to it!

First up, The Granola Bar.

I made a double batch of my Glinda’s Wickedly Delicious Granola. It is my take on a recipe from my friend and colleague, Gwen Ashley Walters.

To accompany the granola, there were bowls of fresh blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries, plus lemon curd, low-fat vanilla yogurt, and, my favorite store-bought yogurt of all time, Greek Gods brand Honey yogurt.

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That is French and translates word for word into Salad. Green. Bitter.

It sounds poetic in French but it certainly does not sound as lovely or appetizing in English. So we shall give it a nicer English name … Bitter Greens Salad with Pomegranates & Parmesan.

So much better. This, of course, was the salad from the European Dinner Party.

I put out store-bought cookies and candies at the end of the meal, so there will not be a dessert recipe. The main course is all I have left to post. Expect that recipe tomorrow.

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Even though I may be a food industry professional who generally avoids big chain restaurants, even I have to admit that Olive Garden’s all-you-can-eat salad and bread-sticks are hard to pass up!

Not that we are frequent diners at Olive Garden. In fact, I believe the only times we’ve eaten there in the past decade have been on road trips.

This is the salad I made for work-weary Marissa and Jeff on Friday night. I have a few more photos of the apartment kitchen too. Here you can see that 6′ 3″ Jeff doesn’t have to stretch much to touch both ends of the kitchen at the same time.

After I complained about how dark the sink area was at night, Dave went to Costco and bought a cool light strip that Jeff and I installed around the kitchen and over the sink. It even has a remote and you can have a full-color light show! Most importantly, it really lights up the place.

Lastly, Marissa used the velvet pumpkins I made for her last year, to cover up and camouflage the TV cords and components on her mantel. Cute!

And most wonderful of all… I found the Jarrahdale pumpkins, which I so love, at Marissa’s corner market which is only two blocks from her house. I smuggled home three of them in our luggage! So excited!

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This salad is so beautiful, full of color and healthy goodness. The glistening arils from pomegranates, the red chewy dried cranberry, the creamy richness of avocado, the crunch and spicy bite of the pepitas – oh my!

I use the one-pound box of greens from Costco, their “half and half” mix, half baby spinach, and half colorful spring mix.

Any lettuce or combination of greens you prefer works just fine. Be sure to use a full pound though, this is a “big” salad! Once the dressing is added to the greens, the salad won’t keep for long, so be sure to wait until the last minute to put it all together.

I use my Candied Spiced Pepitas. These Candied Almonds would be wonderful too.

Quick Tip: This vinaigrette uses sesame seeds. Store sesame seeds in the refrigerator. Those little things go rancid in a hurry if they are stored at room temperature.

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Today is my Aunt Patty’s 60th birthday. Patty is the youngest of eight in the family and my mom is the oldest. My mom was 18 when Patty was born and she married my dad in November of that same year.

We celebrated yesterday with a birthday party at my Uncle Mike and Aunt Silvia’s lovely home. This is the cake that my sister, Sloane, had made at Honey Moon Sweets, for the occasion. The following recipe is one of the two salads I brought. The other salad will be posted tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Patty!

And a very Happy Labor Day to all of you.

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This is the fifth and final post of “Stone Fruit” Week.

How cute are those cookie letters!?! I found them at Trader Joe’s and could not resist.

This is the perfect recipe to finish the week on. It is colorful, fruity, a little decadent, and so wonderfully summery!

I strolled through Trader Joe’s for inspiration. I had the fruit and prosciutto at home and knew those would be part of whatever dish I came up with. Then I spotted the burrata and the rest of it quickly fell into place.

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and fresh cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it a luscious glorious creamy texture. The name “burrata” means “buttered” in Italian.

One component that is not essential, but really puts this salad over the top is Vanilla Bean Olive Oil from the Queen Creek Olive Mill. The Mill is having a summer special right now, buy 2 – get 1 free. I don’t know how long it lasts, so if you’re interested – act quickly. If not, high-quality fruity olive oil will work just fine for this recipe.

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“Fourth of July in Quebec”

Yesterday was our first ever 4th of July spent out of the USA. We are near Ripon, Quebec – which is about 50 miles northeast of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.

Dave and I, along with Terry and Barbara Fenzl, are visiting our friends, Paul and Kim Howard, at their picturesque family vacation home.

We may be in another country, but we celebrated in the traditional Red, White, and True-Blue American style.

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It’s HOT. Here is a cold refreshing salad to help cool you down. Throw in some rotisserie chicken if you want to make it a main course.

Now go sit under a fan or jump in the pool.

Enough said.

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