I love steak + I love salad = many Perfect Bites of steak salad

teak salad has been a favorite of mine for a long time...really, from the first bite I had of one such salad, years ago. A couple of local restaurants have usually served good summer steak salads... until one of them stopped serving lunch and the other had a major chef-changeover, thus new menu, thus no more steak salad...

But that's OK, I can make one for myself! Having a variety of summer ingredients on hand, and steak as well, makes for a happy girl in this kitchen.

It's been a few years since I first saw tomatoes and nectarines and/or peaches together in a salad--not what I immediately said "oh yes" to, but it proved itself a surprising sweet-savory combination. Add to that a little grilled steak, some avocado and blue cheese, and this salad has all the makings of a Perfect Bite. (I am a big fan of meals that can bring about a Perfect Bite, as you can read here, here or here, if you have spare time on your hands...)

Steak salad with tomatoes and nectarines
1 4-6 oz. steak, grilled to your preference, cooled and sliced thinly
1 tomato, cut into eighth wedges
1 nectarine, sliced
1/2 avocado, peeled and cubed
2 cups mixed greens of your choice, washed and chopped
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
Balsamic vinaigrette

Arrange the salad greens on a dinner-size plate, and add the steak, tomatoes, nectarines and avocado in whatever order you'd like. Crumble the blue cheese over the top and drizzle with vinaigrette.

This one makes my day, whenever I get a chance to whip it up. I hope you enjoy as well.

End-of-summer fling: Nectarine salad with basil and fresh mozzarella

o, remember what I said last week about autumn being here? Well, I lied. Or, maybe more to the point, autumn lied to me. It's summer again, at least for the moment, and gone are the soup cravings, the curry cravings, the anything-warm cravings... it's been WARM. And since there are still vestiges of warm-weather food lying about, I couldn't help but whip up a lovely salad this weekend to go along with the sunshine!


Nectarine salad with basil and fresh mozzarella
(So the title pretty much lays out exactly what's in the salad!)
2 nectarines, sliced thinly
1 cup of basil, cut chiffonade
1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella diced (I had those little bocconcini, and halved them)
2 tsp basil oil (straight olive oil will do, but I couldn't resist)
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and serve room temperature.

Basil oil
So in true "me" fashion, I didn't look up an infused oil recipe, just stuck some leaves in a pot with some olive oil and warmed them through for a couple of hours. Worked well. But if you want to do it the way every recipe site recommends, you'd blanch the leaves first... I think that's why my color isn't as *green* as other basil oils I've seen... So I'll do that next time. Sigh.

Regardless, the salad was amazing. Really a lovely last taste to leave summer with...

Summer photo shoot delights

Summer is the best time to take food photos. The ingredients... the ingredients... the ingredients! Produce abounds and it's so fresh from the farm!

I recently made four dishes that we shot for our editorial team at work to choose from. Since I can't really show you the pretty pictures... they belong to "work," and since I forgot (as ALWAYS) to take my camera with me to the shoot, my pictures are from home, and of only two of the recipes. But they are all worthy of a try. Check out the American Institute for Cancer Research and the Centers for Disease Control, where I found the recipes as well; both have many healthy options that are easy and delicious.

Other than the two recipes posted here, I made Savory Fresh Apricot Bites and Bruschetta with Plums and Fresh Basil--both lovely and summer-fresh beautiful.

Santa Fe Chilled Nectarine Soup
2 lbs (8 small) nectarines, sliced
1 cup apple juice
1 cup cranberry cocktail juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Combine nectarines with juices, salt, pepper flakes and vinegar in electric blender. Whirl until smooth and blended. Add cilantro leaves and whirl in a stop-and-go fashion a few seconds, just to chop. Serve chilled.

This soup was just a lovely and refreshing surprise. The fruit flavor came through loud and clear, with a bit of zip from the red pepper flakes, and a bit of zing from the balsamic. Definitely a make-again!


South of the Border Watermelon and Sweet Onion Salsa
2 cups chopped seedless watermelon
3/4 cup Walla Walla sweet onion
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped and seeded jalapeno chilies
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Stir together all ingredients in bowl. Refrigerate, covered at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Stir before serving.

A nice blend of flavors and textures. I would not normally think of putting black beans and watermelon together, and this was a bit of a "sell" for the husband, but it was good. If I were to make it again, I would absolutely add some lime juice to the mixture, for the zing.