Hi friends and a sunny Southern California welcome to new subscribers! I’m so glad that you’ve found your way here.
As always, if you’d rather listen than read, the audio is posted above. I record the audio each week rather than a robot, so enjoy.
For the next few weeks, it is summer salad season. I’ll be sharing recipes for fresh seasonal produce, bright flavors, and mouthwatering vinaigrettes tossed together in dinner-worthy meals and sides.
Paid subscribers, you can look forward to a special salad recipe next week that was inspired by my recent trip to Greece.
Kale: Like It or Not
Kale, once relegated to decorating Pizza Hut salad bars, became a popular raw salad ingredient in the early 2000s. The kale salad that started it all was not only a hit at the Brooklyn restaurant that invented it but turned into a green movement across the nation. Kale was suddenly everywhere.
People tried raw kale. Discovering the leaves to be prickly and difficult to chew, some folks decided it just wasn’t for them. Then along came recipes that required massaging and manipulating to make things more palatable.
Curly kale and Tuscan kale both have tough center stalks that need to be removed prior to eating. But baby kale, the young and tender leaves of a kale plant, is eaten whole. The thin, small leaves are much like arugula in texture and taste.
Like its adult self, baby kale contains calcium, folate, and vitamins C and K. I find pre-washed baby kale in plastic clamshell containers at my local grocery store. This little box of green makes it easy to throw together a vitamin-packed salad without too much fuss on any given weeknight.
Kale is in season right now, so you will find it at grocery stores and local farmers markets.
Something else that’s in season? Stone fruits.
Stone Fruits
We’ve all heard the name. But what exactly are stone fruits? These are fruits that have a stone, or single pit, in the middle of the flesh.
Some common examples include apricots, cherries, coconuts, dates, mangoes, nectarines, peaches, and plums. These fruits are either cling or freestone, meaning the pit either clings to the flesh or frees easily from it. You have most likely seen peaches labeled this way. These stone fruits are also called drupes.
Blackberries, mulberries, and raspberries aren't really berries. They are clusters of small stone fruits that grow together. Their other name: drupelets. Drupes and drupelets sound like a department store bra-fitting that’s gone wrong, don’t you think?
Despite their name, these fruits are fragrant and delicious when ripe. Most of them hit their peak season in the summer months. There is nothing like an in-season peach or nectarine! You know what I’m talking about.
It is best to let these fruits ripen at room temperature, then refrigerate if you aren’t eating them straight away.
Recipe
Kale Salad with Stone Fruits and Pecans
Serves 4
Time needed: 20 minutes
This salad is super simple but tastes surprisingly luxurious. It capitalizes on in-season cherries and plush peaches that contrast nicely with toasted pecans, tangy goat cheese, and slightly peppery leaves of baby kale. A cherry pitter makes pitting easier but a paring knife works in a pinch. Don’t like cherries or peaches? Use another stone fruit instead. You’re an adult, so do what you want.
Ingredients:
5 cups baby kale
1 cup cherries, pitted and halved
1 cup peaches, pitted and sliced
½ cup pecans, lightly toasted
½ cup feta or goat cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette:
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp agave or honey
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Place kale on a large serving platter or shallow bowl. Arrange the cherries and peaches over the kale. Sprinkle on the pecans and feta.
Pour the vinegar, oil, agave, salt, and pepper into a screw-top jar. Cover and shake until combined. Pour the dressing over the salad before serving.
Tell Me
What do you look for in a summer salad? I’d love to hear about the fruits and veggies you are craving right now.
Next week’s newsletter will include a delicious Greek chicken salad that you won’t want to miss. See you next Friday!
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