Celebrating Summer Salad

There is just something about summer that makes you want to eat a salad. Farmers markets and grocery stores have the most beautiful berries, Rainer cherries and nectarines, perfectly crunchy Bibb lettuce, fresh chèvre (Laura Chenel is a goat cheese making aficionado!) You can make a vinaigrette from scratch (or go with my favorite Champagne vinaigrette or Blackberry vinaigrette from Dress it Up Dressing).

I had picked up some delicious crispy onions from our local Earthfare to add to this salad, but alas I forgot about it at the last minute and added walnuts for an added bit of flavor and crunch.

Now, let me take a moment to talk about the Rainer cherries… I’ve picked them up once before but unfortunately they got ‘lost’ in the refrigerator before I had a chance to use them. So this time I was determined to use them on this salad, and they were AMAZING. They are so perfectly sweet that they would make a perfect dessert all on their own. Perhaps we’ll make a Cherry Clafoutis with the remainder of the cherries sometime this week!

— Celebrating Summer Salad —

Ingredients —

• Bibb Lettuce (washed and torn)
• Nectarines (sliced)
• Rainer cherries (pitted and halved)
• Blueberries
• Chèvre (crumbled)
• Walnuts
• Champagne Vinaigrette (optional)

Directions —

Wash lettuce, cherries and blueberries. Prep and add to bowl. Slice nectarines and add to bowls. Top with crumbled chèvre, walnuts and dressing of your choice.