I’d love to say this has been a free-spirited, fun summer, but it hasn’t. It’s been a challenging time of closing chapters and bearing witness to unimaginable circumstances surrounding the loss of two dear friends. Still, we’ve found pockets of joyful moments and laughter within life’s grief and hard work. Our lives are incredibly blessed with deep friendships and loving families, and at times like these, the specialness of close relationships that cut through the noise of the outside world means everything to us. With that said, after almost a year of being vagabonds with our house under renovation and not habitable and traveling to care for people we love, we are back in our home.
During this year, we have discovered how necessary our home is to us. Not the obvious roof-over-our-head thing but the need to have a place to nest. I’m looking forward to unpacking and putting our little place back together, waking up to a steaming cup of Ric’s hot lattes delivered to me in bed, and cooking – grounding, healing cooking.
Today, I filmed my first recipe in a long while. A Nectarine and Watermelon Salad. No cooking involved, just a simple, delicious, healthy bowl of greens, nectarines, watermelon, dates, walnuts, goat cheese, and a dressing made with a splash of white balsamic vinegar, fruity olive oil, preserved lemon (you can also use lemon zest), minced shallot and a bit of mustard. The process of chopping, cutting, whisking, and photographing is a soothing practice for me. Eating the flavorful end-of-season fruits mixed into a colorful and pretty salad is nutritious and tasty.
- 1 5-ounce container salad greens
- ½ pound container pre-cut watermelon or about 1-1/2 cups freshly cut cubed watermelon
- 1 ripe nectarine, pitted and sliced
- 4-5 dates, pitted and roughly chopped or sliced
- ½ cup roughly chopped or torn fresh basil leaves
- ¼ small sweet red onion thinly sliced
- 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- Place the salad greens in a large bowl.
- Layer on the nectarines, watermelon, onions, dates, walnuts, and goat cheese.
- Drizzle dressing over and toss.
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon minced preserved lemon or the zest from one lemon
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Whisk all of the ingredients together before serving.
Be well and enjoy!
