I always look forward to summer for the explosion of fresh garden fruits and veggies. It's no fun buying ingredients in their off-season, so I tend to wait until the warmer weather before purchasing berries and the like. And oh these honeys were worth the wait!
One of my favorite lettuce leaves is arugula, also known as "rocket". It's in the same family as mustard greens and has a nice peppery flavor. I love pairing it with sweet ingredients like strawberries, cranberries, and almonds and a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil for a summer hit!
Ingredients
- Fresh washed baby arugula (rocket!)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Strawberries, hulled and sliced
- Sliced almonds
- Dried cranberries (juice-sweetened of course, no processed sugars added!)
- Season your lettuce before adding in the chunky bits. Depending on how much salad you want to make, you should adjust the amount of oil, lemon, and salt/pepper to taste.
- Toss your seasoned lettuce and now add in the chunky bits! Toss in the strawberries, almonds, and cranberries and there you have it!
Note: Want to turn this into an entree salad? Add some grilled chicken. Boom!
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| Summer berries for the win! |
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| I find it's easier to toss lettuce by putting in all the seasonings before adding in the rest. |
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| If you can't find cranberries seasoned with fruit juice instead of processed sugars like this one from Made in Nature, you can substitute for dried currants or raisins. |
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| Ahhh... freshness |
