I hate cooking during the summer! It makes your house hot and it just seems to take time away from being outside. When I was younger my mom used to make this cous cous salad that I still make today. It was always something that reminded me of summer. For that very reason, I have been making refreshing summer salads that don’t take too much time or preparation. Here are a few of my favorites:
Summer Vegetable Salad
This was one of my favorites because I love vegetables and pasta together. I think if I could eat that combination for the rest of my life and not get fat I would. I even made the salad dressing! Here is the ingredient list:
12 oz. bowtie pasta
2 medium roma tomatoes
1 medium summer squash
1 medium zucchini
1 medium broccoli crown
½ medium red onion
2/3 (15 oz. jar) of roasted red peppers
For the dressing:
¼ cup of olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp minced garlic
¾ tsp salt
To taste, add fresh pepper
First, boil the water, and drop the pasta in. While you’re waiting for it to cook, prepare the vegetables. You can chop each vegetable up and then put them to the side. Make sure the pieces are bite-sized! After the pasta is done, let it cool – while you’re doing this, mix up the dressing. Once the pasta is cool, toss in the vegetables and then coat everything in dressing. Voila, an easy summer salad!
Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, Avocado & Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette
If there is one thing I could eat EVERYDAY it would be avocado. That’s why this recipe looked so enticing to me. This salad takes a little bit longer to make but it is well worth the wait. The recipe tells you to get fresh corn, but I opted for the easier route and got canned. Here are the ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Colavita
1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 Hass avocados, chopped
The beans should be rinsed, and the lime juice should be fresh – it makes for a better salad. For this salad, all you do is chop everything up and then combine it in a bowl. Make sure, like it says in the recipe, to cover it overnight and let it cool. If you don’t, it will make it taste weird – I made that mistake.
I hope you guys liked this installment of HC in the Kitchen! If you enjoy my recipes or DIY projects, please let me know what else I can try and don’t forget, check out my Pinboard!