a summer salad: watermelon arugula salad with feta

Here's another summer favorite of mine. And, now that we have what seems to be fields of arugula, I will be eating this salad regularly. It's so light, simple, and flavorful--and that makes it hard to pass up.

Watermelon Arugula Salad, with Feta

3 cups of sliced, or cubed, seedless watermelon
4 handfuls of arugula
1/2 cup of feta, crumbled
Olive Oil
Pinch of Salt and Pepper (optional)

In a bowl, combine arugula and watermelon. Drizzle with olive oil--not much--and toss. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, but taste the watermelon and arugula first. Sometimes, the arugula will be peppery enough on its own. And, in the same vain, sometimes the watermelon will be flavorful enough on its own as well. But, salt can bring the flavor out really well. Finish with crumbles of feta on top and enjoy!

a summer salad: spinach with strawberries, feta, and candied walnuts

I went to a dinner this week where we were all asked to bring a comfort food—or food from our childhood. It was feeling so warm and springy this week, so I knew exactly what I wanted to bring. My mom used to make this strawberry spinach salad for picnics in the summer when I was growing up and it was so tasty. And, more importantly, sooooo easy. 

Strawberry spinach salad
8 handfuls of spinach
8-10 sliced strawberries
½ to 1 cup of feta cheese (depending on how much you want)
2 c. of candied walnuts (recipe below)

Mix all of the ingredients together in a big bowl and serve.

I didn’t have time to make my own dressing this time, but here’s a great recipe to use…

Candied walnuts
half a cube of butter
2-3 c. walnuts
¼ c . brown sugar (or more…)
½ tsp. salt

Melt the butter in a sauté pan at a low to medium heat. Add the sugar and move it around the pan a bit. Add the walnuts. Coat the walnuts in the buttery sugar goodness for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a paper towel or plate to cool and sprinkle the salt evenly over the nuts. You can even pop them in the fridge for a bit to speed up the process. If you have any leftover, these make a great little snack or a topping to your oatmeal the next morning.