Ah...Summer Salads!!!

I don't know about you, but I have been DYING from the heat lately! It has been blistering and today was no exception! Even as I type this at nearly 7:00pm it is 84F outside...ridiculous! To add to the fantastical sweat fest I'm having, I menu planned to roast a chicken tonight. Oh yes...I am a genius!!! So in my attempts to stay as cool as possible I whipped up a little summer salad with fruit fresh from the fridge to cool me off and help think of blissful winter days basking in the snow!!! Here's what I "cooked" up!

Watermelon, Orange and Feta Salad

Adapted from Everyday Food, Issue 84

1/4 of a small seedless watermelon, rind removed and flesh cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 large orange, pith and peel removed, divided into sections

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

2-4 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. On a platter or in a bowl combine first five ingredients and toss. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
2. Cover and refrigerate until just before serving. Serves 4.
3. Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 2pts. per serving

Happy summer salads everyone!!!

Fennel and Radish Salad of Deliciousness

I have been wanting to figure out how to make new and exciting salads for myself, seeing as how I'm bored with the usual greens, tomatoes, green onions, carrots...blah, blah, blah. Martha Stewart must have read my mind when she put together the ideas in issue 83 of Everyday Food!!! One of the fabulous salads featured was a fennel and radish salad that sounded like exactly what I have been looking for. I whipped it up and found that although it was tasty...it needed more zip...so I added some white balsamic vinegar and it was GENIUS! Enjoy this tasty, crunchy salad alongside a roast chicken hot out of the oven and you'll know that summer is on its way!

Fennel and Radish Salad

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp white-wine vinegar

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

4 radishes, thinly sliced

2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

White balsamic vinegar to taste

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, white-wine vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add fennel bulbs, radishes and capers to the bowl. Toss to combine.

3. Sprinkle white balsamic over salad, about 1 tsp at a time, tasting as you go until you have enough acid.

4. Sprinkle with fennel fronds and enjoy!

Serves 4

BBQ Season!

WAHOO!!! It's time to fire up the grill and bust out your roasting skewers! It's officially BBQ season! I'm kicking it off with a little dinner party tomorrow night and can't wait to feed all of the fun folks coming over! I am so excited that I am actually using our built-in, brick, charcoal powered bbq to really make it count!

Here's what's on the menu:

1. Kentucky Smoked Baby Back Ribs
2. Citrus-Mustard Grilled Chicken
3. Brown Rice Pasta Salad
4. Dilled White Bean and Grape Tomato Salad
5. Grilled Corn on the Cob
6. S'mores...with homemade marshmallows of course!

Want the recipes? Well...tell me when your first grilling event is and what you're grilling up and I'll share my secrets with you!

Coming up next....homemade ice cream!!! Despite all the rain...I can smell summer coming!