Summer Is Cleansing My Palette

Summer Salad

After what felt like an endless spring, we finally are having hot sunshiney summer days. The kind of days that make it easy for me to eat the amounts of produce I want to.

In winter I crave comfort foods. I want braised meats and curry chicken over rice. Hearty stews and yeasty breads that will warm the house and make it smell delicious.

Whereas in summer I desire crisp, refreshing flavors. When it gets really hot, I feel as if I could live on watermelon.

There is a wonderful market near my house. It is like having access to a farmer's market every day. I keep expecting to be disappointed with something I buy there...a ho-hum tomato...a wooden tasting squash? No. So far everything has been bursting with flavor and texture.

The above salad was not really a recipe. I just took ingredients from the fridge: avacado, tomatoes, a bunch of thai basil, scallions, roasted chicken, a few drops of olive oil, a few dashes lemon juice, a bit of sea salt, a couple shakes of black pepper. It was absolutely delicious with a few blue corn chips. I think the only change I will make next time will be to add a little bit of red wine vinegar and some red pepper flakes.

I always thought I wasn't big on vegetables, but that was when I was buying them from the grocery chains where they had no taste. Eating my vegetables has never been this much fun!