This makes me very happy.
The sun is back, baby!
You know what is also back?
Summer Squash.
I promise not to drop any more F-bombs on you for a while. [Fall, that is.]
Ok, ok, the ridiculously cute Summer Squash were never gone. They were just hibernating for a while in my crisper until I decided what the heck to do with them.
My motto is, when in doubt grab a knife and get chopping.
Sometimes I don’t know what I am making until I am half way through!
Juicy. Hydrating. Fresh.
In the prime of their life!
Avocados (aka vegan butter!) are also back.
I used to cringe at avocado when I saw OSGMOM eat it. ‘That looks gross!’, I would scoff sticking out my tongue.
Now, I have to make up for lost time.
….and Cocktail Tomatoes. The fancy, fun, life of the party tomato.
They make me want to mix up a Bloody Mary!
I mourn the days when tomatoes will not be in season…I won’t dare mention the W-word…
But let us not worry of the future. Right now they are sweet, bursting with colour, and so fragrant it hurts.
Energy in a bowl.
Soaked cashews.
When you soak the cashews in water overnight in the fridge they get all plump and juicy and are so addicting. Make sure you give them a little sprinkle of sea salt just before serving! I use raw cashews.
My mother in law is here visiting and she brought me a bunch of her herbs!
Boom.
This salad makes me believe that summer will never end. And right now, that is all I need.
When you hear me complaining about being knee deep in snow come January, please tell me to make this salad to cheer me up.
Actually, don’t. I will cry like a baby when I discover I am 6 months away from having more summer squash and good tasting tomatoes.
Avocado, Cashew, Tomato, & Summer Squash Salad
Ingredients:
- 1.5 large summer squash (I used yellow and green patty pan)
- 8 Cocktail tomatoes (or any variety)
- 1/2 cup soaked cashews
- 2 small avocados
- 3-4 basil leaves, finely chopped
- Better than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sea salt, to taste
Directions: Mix the dressing in a small bowl and set aside. Chop all veggies and toss everything into a bowl except for the avocado. Add dressing and mix well. Top with avocado last. Serves 3-4.
This was incredible…and plenty of leftovers too. :)
The Better than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette contenders: Apple cider vinegar, pure maple syrup, cold-pressed sunflower oil, and Himalayan sea salt
I can’t believe I used to buy bottled salad dressing for all those years. I know it’s hard to believe, but I really don’t miss the long ingredient list that I can’t pronounce. Or the high-fructose corn syrup. Or the Disodium Inosinate. Or Yellow 5.
Some of you have been asking me how to purchase affordable pure maple syrup and my suggestion is to buy locally (obviously, this depends greatly on your location!) and in bulk whenever possible. If you are in Ontario, check out this listing for local maple syrup producers: Ontario Maple Wholesalers.
Now for a quick desk stretch and then back to my paper work. Goodnight!
Wow, I never knew that is what a summer squash looked like. The salad looks amazing; I might just have to track some of that squash down.
I know exactly what you mean about avocados. I used to think they’d just be horrible, and now they are one of my favorite things in life :)
I used to hate avocados too but now… oh boy.
Looks so fresh and fabulous!! wish i had a bowl of that right now :)
Its so nice when people share there garden/herbs with you….there is nothing like food from a homegrown garden.
Those tomatoes look so so good. But I never would have tried raw squash. I do like raw zucchini, so why not?
I’ve learned to love avocados too.
I’m sad that I can’t have squash. I had a butternut squash soup that was to die for but I broke out into hives. Turns out I’m allergic to butternut squash, and so I’m likely to be allergic to other kinds of squash too. That salad looks sooooooo good!
AND thank goodness for the good weather coming our way!
I honestly can’t eat avocado unless it’s mashed up with banana and sugar, or blended with cocoa and syrup to make mousse. I’ve tried eating it as normal in salads a couple of times and the oily texture and slimeyness of avocados always make me feel a bit sick :-(
I adore avocado!
It so good in salads, with tomatoes, and chickpeas…yum!
that salas looks amazing, i love anything avocadoa!!
Oh, holy YUM!!
I don’t buy bottled salad dressings anymore either. Who needs them when you can make better tasting stuff yourself? :)
I’m so lucky that my family actually produces our own maple syrup!! I hope to blog about it this winter :) We didn’t make any last year because we got 4 feet of snow the week we were going to hang taps. Luckily we had a big backstock to hold us over. I love maple syrup!
Yellow 5. Isn’t that just awful. The more I move towards whole foods the more appaled I become. I used to eat WHAT?!?!
Today I finally tried cantalope in my GM – delish! It really takes over, and this smoothie had amazing grass, kale, sprouts, spinach, and collard greens but I couldn’t taste them at all!
this is so perfect! I got a TON of summer squash (and tomatos!) in my CSA share yesterday and had no clue what to do with them. Thanks for the inspiration!
Avocado doesn’t taste like anything to me, but I do love to add it to smoothies because it makes them SUPER creamy without needing any dairy.
We’re actually having the opposite weather here, it has been in the 90’s and now it is going to be in the 60’s-70’s all week.
That salad looks amazing.