Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Refreshing Melon Salad

Refreshingly cool, sweet melons mixed with onions and feta top a bed of baby spinach and doused with the most flavorful citrus garlic vinaigrette make one heck of a side dish!

In the summer when the heat has you beat and it's too hot to even think about cooking, I've got a solution to the side dish dilemma!  A nice, easy salad is in order.  But let's mix things up a bit and make this salad that is both tangy and sweet, cool and crisp, and oh soooo refreshing!

REFRESHING MELON SALAD

This dish is my 11th installment of my Summer Fresh Recipe Series and this one is another winner.  Quick and easy is the name of the game, and using summer's fresh produce it what it's all about with this recipe.  The feature here is fresh melon.  I used watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew, but you could use any melons you choose.  To give this a more "salad" feel I included a bed of baby spinach and sprinkled in some red onion and feta cheese. All this is doused with a wonderful citrus garlic vinaigrette  which is made from orange juice and lime juice with some added flavor from the garlic and sweetness from some honey.  Then we top off the entire salad with some torn mint leaves which brings out the fruit flavors so well.

This is a side dish that goes along with just about anything you like.  Fish, chicken, beef, and pork will all be perfect entrees.  This can be eaten cold or at room temperature.  You can make this ahead just leave off the dressing and the mint until you are ready to serve.  

Enjoy all the fruit that summer has to offer.  We just can't enough!  Take a look at my other installment from my Summer Fresh Recipe Series below.

Enjoy!  

Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp
• Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Refreshing Melon Salad

serves 4

Ingredient Checklist

2 cups baby spinach

1/4 cup red onion, sliced thinly 
1 cup watermelon, sliced

1 cup cantaloupe, sliced

1 cup honeydew, sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese (2 oz.), crumbled

1 Tbsp fresh mint, torn into small pieces

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. orange juice
1/2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 Tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

On a small platter arrange spinach so that it forms a base and covers the platter.

In a small bowl add sliced onions and cover with water.  Allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Arrange melon slices over the spinach.  To make the dressing:  Add to a small bowl, orange juice, lime juice, honey, garlic, salt & pepper, and olive oil.  Whisk until emulsified.  Set aside.

Remove onion from the water, draining off any excess moisture.  Add on top of the melon.  Spread around crumbled feta cheese.  Drizzle with dressing and then add the torn mint leaves.  Serve immediately.

adapted from:  Triple Melon Salad

Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp

Nothing tastes more like summer than juicy sweet peaches with bursts of tart blueberries laced with ginger, all topped with a crunchy buttery topping.  

We made it to August! Can you believe how this summer is flying by.  Since I love summer, I really would like it to slow down a bit so I can savor the long evenings.  But the dog days of August are around the corner and they are typically our hottest weather.  We're topping 100 degrees today already.

Today I'm presenting my 10th installment of my Summer Fresh Recipe Series of quick and easy recipes to make using summer produce.  Today we are talking desserts.  Summer desserts remind me of fresh fruit pies, cobblers, and crisps, along with a big scoop of ice cream for good measure!  So today I am featuring peaches and blueberries as our main ingredient.  What would summer be without them?

PEACH BLUEBERRY & GINGER CRISP

This really is an easy dessert to throw together and you can use the recipe as a base recipe for all sorts of fruit variations, just follow the recipe and adjust the sugar up or down (1/2 - 3/4 cup should work) depending on how sweet your fruit is.  I chose peaches and blueberries because I love the flavor combination, and added ginger for a little warmth.  

The topping is a typical crisp topping of oats, flour, brown sugar, and butter, with the addition of some cinnamon and almonds for warmth and crispy bites.  This can be used as a base topping for all your crisp.  Don't like almonds, switch to pecans, or leave them out completely.  This makes a really crumbly butter topping that is hard to resist.

Eat this straight from the oven, all warm and bubbly with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Or make it early in the morning to beat the heat, then reheat portions of it in the microwave or eat it cold.  Any way you service it this dessert will be the hit of the menu!

Kitchen Note:  Our peaches here in California are not quite ripe yet so I used frozen peaches.  If your peaches are ripe, by all mean use them. They are the best!  

Enjoy!



Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp

serves:  4-6


Topping:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

Filing:
1 1/2 lbs. frozen peaches (or fresh peaches)
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare topping.  In a medium bowl add oats, almonds, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Cut in 6 Tbsp cold butter with a pastry cutter or 2 forks, until mixture is crumbly.  Set aside.

To a large bowl add your peaches and blueberries.  Top with the sugar and ginger and stir until coated.  Add lemon juice and cornstarch and stir until all combined.

Place mixture in a pie pan or an 8x8 baking dish.  Top with crisp topping and pop it in the oven to bake for about 40-45 minutes, until peaches are tenders and fruit is bubbling.  You may need to cover the top with foil about 30 minutes in to prevent over browning of the topping.  

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Serve with ice cream if desired.

Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette

Melt-in-your-mouth, tender grilled sirloin steak, cooked to perfection, and then doused with a garlic herb vinaigrette.  This makes for one amazing summer entree!

Here's a quick post to bring you my 9th installment of my Summer Fresh Recipe Series.  Over the weekend I posted my Grilled Vegetable Platter which is amazing by itself, but goes perfect along side this tender and juicy sirloin steak.

GRILLED SIRLOIN STEAK WITH GARLIC HERB VINAIGRETTE

No marinade for this baby, just a few simple seasonings and your are ready to grill.  To finish the dish you top your perfectly cooked sirloin steak with an easy to make vinaigrette filled with garlic and rosemary for that extra pop of flavor.  Don't skip this part, as the vinaigrette is everything!

(Disclosure: I'm such a goofball! I totally forgot to put garlic herb vinaigrette on the steak BEFORE I took the pictures...duh!  I'm sorry, the pictures do not display the heavenly topping!!!)

Paired with my Grilled Vegetable Platter and you have the perfect summer feast.

Enjoy!


Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette

serves 4-6


1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste
olive oil

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt & ground black pepper

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat.  In a small bowl combine the paprika and garlic powder.  Rub the steak with the seasoning on all sides.  Sprinkle with a little salt & pepper to taste.  Brush olive oil all over the steak prior to grilling.

Grill the steak about 5-7 minutes per side for medium doneness, turning once.  Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, combine the items for the vinaigrette in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Cut the steak across the grain and place on a platter.  Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over the steak and serve remaining vinaigrette along with the steak.  Serve.