I recently noticed that while I’ve posted over 25 desserts, there’s only one lonely salad hanging out in my recipe index. Aww, poor salad. It’s funny because although I actually always enjoy digging into a lovely pile of greens at a restaurant, I’ve never quite gotten into the groove of making salads at home.  This is mostly because I’m usually too lazy to chop up all the different kinds of veggies needed to turn lettuce into a main course! But I couldn’t help but be inspired to get out my knife this week, after seeing all the fresh summer produce at the market.

We had the best sweet corn on the cob and it was just begging to be used in a salad, so I mixed the corn up with spinach, grape tomatoes, and shrimp, and made a lovely red pepper dressing that really complemented all the ingredients. I wanted to add some chopped avocado too, but they weren’t quite ripe enough. I’ve got to start making salads more often!

Summer Spinach Salad with Red Pepper Dressing
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 red pepper, chopped
2 medium shallots, chopped (1/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces baby spinach
2 cups cooked fresh sweet corn (from 2 ears of corn)
2 cups grape tomatoes
2 cups cooked shrimp

Directions:
To make the dressing, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and sauté red pepper and shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Place cooked veggies in a food processor with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, and salt, and pulse for several minutes or until smooth.

Toss spinach leaves with red pepper dressing, sweet corn, grape tomatoes, and cooked shrimp in a large bowl until well combined. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 338 calories, 19.2g fat, 5.4g fiber, 20.6g protein per serving
Cost: $2.19 per serving

My problem on weekends is that I tend to sleep in until after noon and then half the day is already gone! Plus, then I end up not being able to fall asleep until very late on Sunday night, which makes it hard to get up on Monday morning. But, I struggle to change this habit for two reasons, 1.) maybe my body just needs the sleep? and 2.) I better enjoy it now because I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep in after we have kiddos! I’ve decided middle ground may be the way to go and got up by 10:30 both mornings this weekend. I was super productive and ran a bunch of errands and assembled my DIY light box!

I can’t believe I didn’t get around to putting this light box together earlier! My hubby bought the lights months ago when he volunteered to make my light box, but when I learned of his grand plans to use PVC pipe and curtains to make a huge lighting studio, I realized things had gotten a bit out of control. I found this site and made a cheap version myself. I’m still playing around with it, but it’s nice to finally feel like a real food blogger!

I also made this lovely salad this weekend. The flavors were inspired by the Salad of Hiramasa Sashimi course we had at our anniversary dinner at Craigie on Main. I made a caramelized shallot vinaigrette that I mixed with spinach, roasted beets, mango, avocado, and toasted pine nuts. I don’t make “fancy” salads very often at home, but I think this one is worth taking a few extra minutes to assemble! It was also my first time roasting beets and I can’t believe I haven’t done it before.

Roasted Beet, Mango, and Avocado Spinach Salad
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 large beet, scrubbed
1 cup chopped mango
1/2 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon apricot jam
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups packed fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Wrap beet in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Let cool for 10 minutes, then peel and slice into chunks.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and sauté shallots for 7 to 10 minutes or until caramelized. Cool to room temperature and whisk in remaining tablespoon olive oil, red wine vinegar, apricot jam, and salt.

Toss spinach leaves with vinaigrette, roasted beets, mango, and avocado, and top with toasted pine nuts. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 435 calories, 32.3g fat, 7.6g fiber, 6.5g protein per serving
Cost: $2.01 per serving