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Here is another summer dish that is super simple to make and delicious at the same time. I made this one for a barbecue we were invited to. I offered to make a bean salad and decided to add juicy nectarines to the mix.

Like mangoes, nectarines add a delicious sweet, tangy aspect to any dish.

I used garbanzo, kidney and black beans. I added green onions, cilantro and the nectarines- that is it. You can assemble this salad in advance and refrigerate it until you serve your meal. In fact it tastes better if you dress it in advance and let it sit for a while. The flavors marry each other and taste delicious.

Speaking of the dressing, I made an orange chipotle one for this salad. I juiced two large navel oranges, one lemon and paired them with a chipotle pepper, honey and olive oil. It resulted in a delicious, fresh tasting dressing. I mixed the salad with the dressing and kept in the fridge until we were ready to go for the get together.

The salad was served with some lamp burgers and corn. Everything was delicious, especially the salad. It was a perfect balance of spice, sweet and tangy- my favorite flavor combination!
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I love, love this salad. I utilized our favorite fruit in the house-mangoes. I make everything with this delicious fruit- entrees, appetizers, salads and dessert, oh, and some delicious drinks as well. I needed to serve a side dish with the shrimp curry I posted yesterday. I wanted to make some kind of a starch and also vegetables. I decided to make a rice salad (never made one before) and use mangoes, red peppers, green onions, cilantro and mint. How can you go wrong with all those delicious ingredients??

I made a fabulous dressing consisting of rice vinegar, honey and olive oil. It is amazing to me how just the right ingredients can make such a big difference in a dish. The tangy dressing made the rice salad absolutely delicious and it went perfectly with the shrimp curry.  We ate the rice salad a few days even after the curry was finished. It tasted better the next day.

This salad will be perfect with any grilled entree like hamburgers, hot dogs or even steak.  This will be a staple in our house for the summer.
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This salad epitomizes summer according to me. It looks bright and colorful with the baby spinach and strawberries. It is super healthy and includes walnuts- which, just like spinach is a super food.

We were having one of our Friday pizza parties and I was grilling pizzas outside. I wanted to make a light, easy salad that will be delicious with the dinner.

I had lots of strawberries and always keep baby spinach in the fridge. I paired them together and added the walnuts to the mix. I came up with a simple balsamic dressing. Since strawberries were the main ingredient, I added some strawberry jam to the dressing. It added a great delicious tang to the vinaigrette.

Overall the salad was delicious. It went perfectly well with the grilled pizzas, in fact I think it will go well with any entree. I served a chilled white wine and the meal was great.

Try this salad this summer, you will love it.
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This salad is perfect for summer time- no cooking involved. Just put some ingredients together and make your vinaigrette and you have a great side dish to complement anything at all. It is even great as a light meal at the end of the day or for lunch with a fried egg on top.

I made it with the fish tacos (recipe to follow tomorrow). I was going to make a simple green salad but then thought of doing a bean salad instead. I had mangoes and sweet peppers in my fridge and paired them with green onions and cilantro. I always have different kinds of canned beans in my pantry. Beans are super healthy and add great texture to any dish.

The dressing was simply, lime juice, honey, roasted cumin and olive oil. You can’t get this delicious vinaigrette out of a bottle and yet it is so simple to make. I added the dressing to the salad and let it sit for a few hours before serving it with the delicious tacos.

It was a big hit- super healthy and delicious- and best of all, very easy to make.
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This is a perfect spring/summer salad. I used golden beets instead of the regular red ones- there isn’t much taste difference but I love the way they look. They are a tad bit milder than the other ones. I paired them with a lovely bunch of asparagus.

I individually wrapped the beets and roasted them in the oven. I like them roasted the best- they become nuttier and sweeter. Half way through, I roasted the asparagus in the same oven and I was done.

The rest was easy- I made a vinaigrette with mustard, olive oil and some white wine vinegar. I love a big burst of salt – so, decided to add some crumbled feta and kalamata olives.

The salad was delicious. This will be perfect with any grilled meal you decide to make this weekend. Enjoy!
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