ARUGULA KIWI SUMMER SALAD WITH HERBS (a 1-2 banana difficulty)

Summer is a great time to enjoy salads!  They are cool, refreshing, & great tasting.  I made this one look fancy just because I was going to post about it.  Usually it is just thrown into a bowl & enjoyed.  Fruit & fresh herbs are great ways to add variety and healthy goodness to salads.  Avocado, Walnuts, & Cheese are pretty much salad staples for me and this salad was no different.  Seriously, 'anymonkeycan' make great summer salads.

WHAT YOU NEED:
(pretty much everything is to taste)
1-2 Kiwi (sliced like medallions)
Arugula (or your favorite lettuce/spinach)
Herbs (chopped- today was cilantro, chives, & fennel)

(everything else is pretty much optional)
Carrot (thinly sliced)
Walnuts (crushed)
Avocado (sliced)
Dried Cranberries
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Cheese (finely grated- stella fontinella for me)

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Cutting Board
Paring Knife
Chef's Knife
Vegetable Peeler
Small Spoon
Cheese Grater

WHAT YOU DO:

1.  Slice Kiwi in half along equator.  Carefully use Spoon to scoop out kiwi from each half.  Discard/Compost the fuzzy, outer Kiwi peel.  Use Knife to cut into thin medallions.  Arrange on the plate.

2.  Thoroughly Rinse the Arugula.  Tear into bite size pieces.  Place in middle of the Kiwi medallions.

3.  Chop up the Herbs, then sprinkle on top of the Arugula.

4.  With the Peeler, thinly slice carrot slivers onto your salad.

5.  Sprinkle on the Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, & Salt.

6.  Cut Avocado lengthwise, remove the seed, then use the Spoon to Scoop out the Avocado "Meat."  Discard/Compost the outer skin.  Thinly slice the Avocado & add to the salad.

7.  Sprinkle with Cheese.

8.  Drizzle with the Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar.

9.  Enjoy!!

Viola!! A tasty, summer salad that 'anymonkey' just made. For the record, I use about 1/3-1/2 of the Avocado, 1/2 a carrot, 2 T Walnuts, 1-2 Kiwi, 2-3 T Cheese, 1-2 "loose" c Arugula for each salad. Mint would be a great herb to use in this as well.  Be creative!

(Below are photos with each step)

1. Slice Kiwi in half along equator. Carefully use Spoon to scoop out kiwi from each half. Discard/Compost the fuzzy, outer Kiwi peel. Use Knife to cut into thin medallions. Arrange on the plate.

2. Thoroughly Rinse the Arugula. Tear into bite size pieces. Place in middle of the Kiwi medallions.
3. Chop up the Herbs, then sprinkle on top of the Arugula.

4. With the Peeler, thinly slice carrot slivers onto your salad.

5. Sprinkle on the Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, & Salt.

6. Cut Avocado lengthwise, remove the seed, then use the Spoon to Scoop out the Avocado "Meat." Discard/Compost the outer skin. Thinly slice the Avocado & add to the salad.

7. Sprinkle with Cheese.

8. Drizzle with the Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar.
9. Enjoy!!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Salad Dressings (Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Sure, the grocery store has about one side of an entire aisle devoted to salad dressing. Why should one bother learning how to make a Balsamic Vinaigrette then?

Making a Vinaigrette is easy and can easily impress those who don't cook. It's almost like a magician performing a card trick. Those who don't know the sleight of hand are often amazed and delighted!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

1/4 cup of Balsamic Vinegar

2 Teaspoons of Honey

2 Teaspoons of Spicy Mustard

Add all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk until fully blended. That's it!

You can get as complicated or as simple as you want with the vinaigrette. You can change up the type of vinegar (Raspberry, Apple Cider, etc,) or add different herbs or different spices or different ratios of the above ingredients.

I've actually become quite lazy and normally just drizzle Oil and Vinegar straight onto my salad with a dash of Kosher salt!

See, "anymonkeycan" make a Vinaigrette! Enjoy!