Fruity Summer Salad

An easy and refreshing salad for a hot summer day…

Just Peachy Pine Nut Salad

5 or 6 large ripe peaches, sliced
4 to 6 large romaine lettuce leaves, torn into bite-size pieces
1 small sweet red or white onion, thinly sliced vertically
1 cup of basil leaves, lightly packed and coarsely chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 to ½ cup of Poppy Seed Dressing (see below)
½ cup pine nuts, toasted (see below)

Combine the peaches, lettuce, onion, basil and bell pepper in a large bowl.  Add the poppy seed dressing and toss to coat well.  Arrange the salad on an attractive serving platter.  Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve.

Note:  Any summer fruits would work in this salad in place of the peaches, as long as they are sweet.  Even more appealing is a mixture of fruits.  Peaches and nectarines, for example, are a tasty combination.

Yield:  6 servings

Poppy Seed Dressing

½ cup organic canola oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup water
2 Tbls. plus 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
2 Tbls. dry mustard
2 Tbls. poppy seeds
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
¼ tsp. paprika

Combine all the ingredients in a 1-quart jar and shake well.  Using a funnel, transfer the dressing to a narrow neck bottle or similar container for easier serving.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.  Poppy seed dressing will keep for two weeks.

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Toasting

Toasting nuts is quick and easy.  The simplest way I’ve discovered is to put a small quantity, up to 1 cup, of any variety of shelled nuts into a dry skillet.  Turn the heat to high, stand faithfully over the pan with a wooden spoon, and stir continuously until the nuts begin to turn a golden color.  If you prefer not to stir the nuts, you can shake the pan constantly.  The process takes 2 to 3 minutes at most.  If you have several things cooking at the same time and you take your eyes off those nuts for just a hair of a minute, that’s when they are likely to burn. 

As soon as they reach that rich golden color, immediately transfer them to a dish to cool.  If you leave them in the skillet, the residual heat will continue to toast them and quite possibly burn them.

Reprinted with permission from The Nut Gourmet– Nourishing Nuts for Every Occasion, by Zel Allen.  Copyright 2006, Book Publishing Company, Summertown TN.