News Taffy

We are dragging through the dog days of summer at our house. The heat and drought are really getting us down. Sometimes when it is this hot, I don’t feel like eating, much less cooking. This is when it pays to have several recipes with a few simple ingredients that don’t involve heating up the oven. You should take advantage of all the wonderful produce in it’s peak season and visit the farmers’ market frequently. Here is one of my favorite summer salads using strawberries, blueberries and spinach. It truly is a powerhouse of nutrition. Among other nutrients, blueberries are high in fiber, vitamin C and K; strawberries are are very high in vitamin C and are a good source of fiber and potassium while spinach is loaded with vitamin A and C and zinc. The pecans are a great source of fiber, protein and iron but don’t load on too many as they are high in fat.

Spinach Salad With Blueberries and Strawberries

INGREDIENTS:
*1 package fresh baby spinach
*1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced
*1 cup blueberries 1/2 cup pecans, toasted
*1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
*Honey lime salad vinaigrette (recipe below) or your favorite vinaigrette, try Briannas Blush Wine Vinaigrette available at Krogers

INGREDIENTS:  Place spinach in a salad bowl, top with fruit and nuts. Sprinkle with cheese and drizzle on a few tablespoons of vinaigrette. If you want to make the salad a bit fancier, try sugaring the pecans as follows. Don’t toast the pecans but place them in a small skillet. Add 2 Tbsp. of sugar and heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly. When the sugar has melted and the pecans are coated and lightly toasted, remove from heat and quickly spread on a sheet of waxed paper. Let cool, then break up any clumps and add to salad.

Honey Lime Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS:
*2 Tbsp. honey
*3 to 4 Tbsp. olive oil
*2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
*1 tsp. Dijon mustard
*1/2 tsp. garlic powder
*1/4 tsp. cumin
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1/4 tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Place all ingredients in a jar, screw on lid and shake till ingredients are well combined or place in a mixing cup and whisk instead.

For those of you who don’t suffer from seafood allergies like I do, buy some shrimp at the grocery store and have them cook it for you. Even better, make a double batch of the vinaigrette and drizzle some over the uncooked shrimp and grill until done. If shrimp isn’t your thing, substitute some thinly sliced chicken breasts and do the same thing. These thin chicken breasts will cook as fast as the shrimp. A light summer dinner is done in minutes with no fuss on your part, no hot oven and no excuses for not eating a healthy meal.

Until next week,
Lisa