Fresh End of Summer Salads

Fall is in the air, and I'm sure I am getting the last of the summer fruits and vegetables. I'm not ready. If I stomp my feet and shake my fist at the sky, will the warm sun and long days come back? Don't get me wrong, I do love autumn with it's changing leaves, football, crisp morning air, and cinnamon added to so many dishes. But I'm just not ready yet. So here are two summer salads that I think look like sunshine on a plate.

First, Golden Beet & Tomato Salad. I know some of you think you don't like beets and maybe you really don't. But please don't judge them by the canned pickled things you've eaten at grandma's house.

Sunshine on a platter.

Ingredients:

• Golden beets (I had like 8 small ones)
• Tomatoes - preferably Roma (I used 5-6)
• 3-5 Roasted Garlic cloves, depending upon how much you like garlic
• Chèvre, about 1/4 - 1/3 cup
• Vinaigrette (I used a honey mustard one with tarragon in it, but any kind will do)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Scrub beets and trim off greens. (Save greens for another use - they are tasty.) Place beets on foil on a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap foil around beets. Bake for 30 - 60 minutes until a fork or knife can easily be inserted (like a baked potato.) I know this is a big range of baking time, but it really will depend upon the size of your beets. Unwrap and let cool. Peel with a knife; the skin will come right off now. Slice beets.

Slice tomatoes, and place slices on plate lined with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, flip, and let sit another 15 minutes. You can skip this or shorten time, but it helps keep the salad from getting watery. 

On a platter, layer beets and tomatoes with a partial overlap in a ring shape. I put a couple beet slices together because my beets were quite small. Put any extra slices in the middle. Cut up roasted garlic and sprinkle on top. Crumble chèvre (you could also use feta) and sprinkle on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve cold or at room temperature. 

The second salad really is just a way to dress up mellon. It doesn't even have a title. It is based on a lovely side dish my friend Karen made for me that had honeydew and cucumber chunks with a similar topping, only mixed altogether. So refreshing. I don't know what the mellon I used is called. My CSA list just said "mellon." The flesh looks like cantaloupe, but the exterior was different and it was sweeter. However, this would work with any mellon.

Here is the mellon cut in half

Ingredients to serve one person:

• 1 cup diced mellon
• 1-2 tbsp plain, non-fat greek yogurt (or whatever yogurt you want)
• Drizzle of honey (maybe a teaspoon or so?)
• Sprinkling of crushed or minced mint (Crushed if dried and minced if fresh)

Directions:

Placed mellon in a bowl. Dollop the yogurt on top. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with mint. Eat.

Sum, sum, summertime!

I'm holding on to the last moments of summer with these sunny salads. I hope what is on your table in this moment will help you keep that warm summer glow going, too.