Peach, Walnut & Roasted Beet Salad

I'm going to be the master of the obvious here & tell you that it's been hot lately. Super hot. That means I'm less motivated to make heavy dinners & really into anything I don't have to actually cook.

Of course, I have turned the oven on a few times. I had to roast the beets for this salad, for example. But I made it worthwhile by making Hot Chocolate Cookies at the same time! It was a win-win situation. Then I stored the beets in the fridge so they were ready for me to put on salads throughout the week.

I was super excited to pull my beets. We thinned them a few weeks ago & I got just enough to have for one meal. Last weekend we pulled the rest (I was sweating like crazy out there!). There were 4 that had some surface damage, so I cleaned those right away & roasted the good parts.

I wasn't sure whether we'd just toss them on salads or if I'd do something special with them, but I came across a recipe on the Whole Foods site that was just begging to have them on it. We ate outside for the first time in weeks, happy to enjoy the fresh air & the crisp flavors.

I hope you're staying cool. We usually go for a nice bike ride on Saturday mornings, but this week we cut it short to 4 miles. It was too hot! We stopped at the producers-only farm market on the way home & got lettuce, peaches, corn on the cob, & zucchini. I can't wait to see what they have to offer next weekend!

Peach, Walnut & Roasted Beet Salad

Inspired & Adapted from Whole Foods

Serves 2 as the main course or 4 as side salads

Dressing:

1/4 c walnuts, toasted
1 large peach, chopped
2 T lime juice (or more to taste)

Salad:
1/2 head green leaf lettuce, washed & torn into pieces

1/2 head red leaf lettuce, washed & torn into pieces

1 peach, sliced
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced

2 beets, roasted - follow these instructions, just use only red beets - can be done ahead of time

Blend dressing ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Divide lettuces evenly between bowls/plates. Top with remaining ingredients, divided evenly. Drizzle with dressing & serve immediately. Alternatively, serve with dressing on the side & allow each person to add their own, to taste. (We didn't use all of the dressing for our 2 salads. There was enough left for at least 1 more salad.)

Notes:

- Beets can be roasted a day or two before making the salad. Store in the refrigerator.

- Dressing will keep for about 4 days. You can make it ahead of time & store in the refrigerator. This is good to do if you like your dressing cold because if you make it fresh it will be warm or room temperature.

1/4 c walnuts, toasted

My January Garden

Welcome to 2012! I'm easing into the year slowly, but I think I'm finally recovered from the flu that had me beat for the first 5 days of January.

Did you all celebrate the new year with a bang? We stayed at home & had my parents over for dinner & games. Dinner was good, but the drinks were the real hit. Creamsicle mimosas. Oh.my.deliciousness. Just do it. It's totally worth the splurge on a bottle of marshmallow vodka. It might even still be on sale - I was pleasantly surprised & figured it being on sale meant this must be the perfect drink. I'm already pondering spiked hot cocoa...

Things are looking brown with some splashes of green around the garden. Nothing like during the summer, but I'm happy to report that I still have some kale, lettuce, & spinach growing!

I baby it by tucking it under a sheet every night.

And un-tucking it in the morning so that it gets some sun. All of the leaves that fell from our tree give it some insulation, too.

The other lettuce has a glass cover, so I don't need to uncover it during the day. I love seeing the lines of frost on the glass in the mornings! 

The kale looks like palm trees & tastes so sweet. It's hardy enough that I don't cover it at all. Some nights it freezes, but during the day the sun thaws it out & it keeps growing. We've been enjoying it as salad & lightly cooked with garlic.

It's a little extra work to remember to cover & uncover the garden each day, but it's worth it for fresh greens. Here's to eating plenty of greens in 2012!