Summer is for Salads!

Sushi Roll Edamame Salad-recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction

I love all of the fresh produce during the summertime!  Before I plan the meals for the week, I try to go to the farmers market to see what I can get first.  Then I try to base the weekly meals off of what I find and what I still need to use in the kitchen.  I have mostly been buying greens at the farmers market, but in just a couple of weeks I know there will be a lot more to choose from.

Greens from the farmers market

Strawberries, asparagus, green onions and greens from the farmers market

Local strawberries

During the summer, I make a lot of salads.  It's a great way to use up a lot of the fresh, local produce and it's a meal I don't have to cook.  If I don't want to turn on the oven because it's too hot, a salad is a perfect meal.  The sushi roll edamame salad in the first picture is from Appetite For Reduction.  If you don't own this cookbook-go and buy it now!!  Seriously, Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipes are amazing.  In my opinion, her flavors are always unique and amazing.  Here are a couple more pictures of the Sushi Roll Edamame Salad.  Make the Green Onion Miso salad dressing that she gives the recipe for alongside the salad.  It really has an amazing flavor!

(This picture is with the green onion miso salad dressing-it's amazing!)

Another salad I love to make is a simple taco salad. 

 If you use tortilla chips, you don't really have to cook anything.  However, I have started making my own tortilla chips out of the Ole High Fiber Low Carb Tortillas.  I use just one tortilla and it makes plenty of "chips" for my taco salad.  A regular serving of tortilla chips is about 140 calories but if I make my own chips with the tortilla, one Ole tortilla is about 70 calories.  Since I am counting calories now, I really try to cut corners like that when I can.  However, when I make my own chips, I have to use the oven to get them to be crispy.  That can be a pain during the summer because of the heat.  But this is what I do:

I preheat the oven to about 300 degrees.  Then I spray a cookie sheet with the Misto oil sprayer until it's lightly coated.  I take one tortilla and cut it into small pieces.  Then I spray some oil on top of the pieces and lightly salt it. I bake them in the oven for about 6 minutes and then turn them over and bake for another 4-6 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy.  That's it!  Then you can assemble your taco salad with anything you have on hand.  I typically use lettuce or spinach, tomatoes, salsa, corn, Tofutti Sour Supreme, whatever beans I have on hand, or just whatever else you want.  It's a good way to use up some produce that you have.  

What salads do you make?  Do you make any of your own salad dressings?  Do you grow any of your own produce?