Summer of Salads

I've held a long-standing preference for eating fresh cherries over cooking with them. In fact, my favorite way to consume them is simply off the stem. Our Berry Tempting series, however, has encouraged me to broaden my cherry horizons, and I've not only discovered that the stone fruits work well in a savory salsa, but also as the sweet touch to an entrée salad. If you love a contrast of flavor profiles and textures, but you're over the predictable spinach-bacon or strawberry-pecan pairings, you'll flip for this healthy and creative yet fast and easy meal. Fresh, in-season Bings are the crucial ingredient. They add a burst of sweet juice, along with a lingering pucker, to the crunchy combo. For the recipe, keep on reading.

Over the Summer we took advantage of the season's wide variety of produce and shared our best salad recipes. However, one salad, the bean salad, was overlooked. Luckily reader Lengel has shared her rendition of bean salad in the Kitchen Goddess group on the YumSugar Community. Want your recipes and photos to be shared here on YumSugar? Start participating in the community!
Lengel, who has her own food blog, Working Girls Kitchen, is not a fan of bean salads. Although she finds them to be totally unappealing, she describes this salad recipe — which comes from another popular food blogger, Heidi Swanson — to be simple, yummy, and surprising. Pan-roasted carrots and fresh dill take ordinary canned beans to a whole new level. I agree with Lengel when she says, "this is a great dish for any picnic and will work great for work lunches." To check out the recipe, read more

Party and I have consumed countless salads over the last few months, from heirloom tomato panzanella to Niçoise salad and everything in between. But I'd almost forgotten about the American café favorite, Asian chicken salad, until I found myself watching Giada at Home one afternoon, and had yet another "must make this" moment. Her version is topped with sliced, roasted chicken and coated in a not-too-cloying soy dressing. The result is a light, yet hearty salad that I could eat over and over again. See for yourself when you check out the recipe.

Whenever I'm cooking for a crowd and need a recipe that's portable, I always consider pasta salad. It's filling and easy to make a large batch. While sometimes I assemble a Mediterranean pasta salad with orzo and feta, I also like to make this recipe with tomatoes and mozzarella.

What provides this salad with incredible flavor is the sun-dried tomato dressing — it's so good I've enjoyed it with fish! Made in a blender or food processor, the dressing is a mixture of tomatoes, capers, and garlic, thinned with oil and red wine vinegar. A generous handful of parmesan cheese and fresh basil finish off the satisfying salad that only tastes better the next day. To make it before tomato season is over get the recipe now

In the past week, San Francisco's seen some of the hottest days of the year. Which is why when a friend came over for lunch, I suggested we make a big, chilled salad with a cooling dressing to top it off. I chose taco salad: not the traditional kind with a fried tostada bowl and ground beef, but a lighter, meatless version with a creamy cilantro, cucumber, and avocado dressing.

The salad turned out beautifully. It has vibrantly hued ingredients, each neatly chopped, in contrasting layers. I especially enjoyed the flavors and textures — like buttery avocado, smoky cumin, and crispy chips — without any of the grease. Leftover chopped ingredients make for a wonderful next meal, and you can vary the dish. Remove the cheese to turn it vegan, or add grilled skirt steak if you're a meat lover. Savor a different taco salad when you read more

This Summer we've been celebrating in-season produce with a plethora of delicious salad recipes. Thus I thought it was high time we showcase a wide variety of salad accessories. From bowls to spinners to colanders to tongs to platters, a lot of kitchen tools are necessary to prepare and serve a scrumptious salad. Below you'll find a collection of my favorite salad accessories, but the item I'm most obsessed with is this urban picnic salad set. It's two bowls in one — a porcelain salad bowl inside a bamboo carrier — with a handle that doubles as serving utensils! One can make the salad in the kitchen and carry it to the table quickly and easily. How cool is that?

Panzanella is an Italian salad that typically consists of the following basic elements: day-old bread, diced onions, and ripe tomatoes. Many other ingredients can be added, but I prefer variations that highlight the pure fresh flavor of in-season tomatoes. This recipe is Top Chef Masters runner up Michael Chiarello's version. Although he says one should peel, seed, and drain the tomatoes, I skip this step all together. With its burst in your mouth tomatoes, crunchy cheesy croutons, and peppery crisp arugula, this is my favorite Summer panzanella. I've made it countless times over the years and my guests are always impressed. To introduce your friends and family to this scrumptious salad, get the recipe.

This Summer we've been celebrating in-season produce with a plethora of delicious salad recipes. Thus I thought it was high time we showcase a wide variety of salad accessories. From bowls to spinners to colanders to tongs to platters, a lot of kitchen tools are necessary to prepare and serve a scrumptious salad. This is where you come in. I want you to tell me your favorite salad accessories. Whether it's a tried and trusted wooden bowl you've been making Caesar salad in forever, or a shiny new set of porcelain tongs that you've been contemplating purchasing — bookmark it.

Share it with us by saving it in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Salad Accessories. Next week I'll highlight your collection of salad essentials!

To learn how bookmarking works, refer to geeksugar's explanation. To get you started, check out a list of my favorite online stores and read more

Here on the West Coast, we haven't been hard-hit by the year's devastating tomato blight, so I've been taking advantage of my good fortune by supporting growers of heirloom tomatoes (perhaps a little too much; the other day I bought $21 worth of them!). As a salad fanatic, I had to make my favorite type of tomato salad.

The insalata Caprese, which literally translates to "salad from Capri," is composed of three main ingredients: fresh mozzarella, vine-ripened tomatoes, and basil leaves. It's a no-brainer to prepare, and takes five seconds to make, so the key is to use top-notch components.

In addition to enjoying the basic Caprese, it's also fun to play around with the recipe. On this day, I chopped up an extra pound of heirlooms, let them sit in a fine sieve until the juice strained through, and whisked the juice with olive oil and seasonings to make a punchy vinaigrette that brought out the savory herbaceousness of tomatoes. Start experimenting when you read more

While it doesn't quite feel like Summer with the Bay Area's cool weather, I still want to enjoy a simple yet delectable salad. Tossing a mildly spicy ginger dressing over grilled flank steak with sweet pineapple, peppery radishes, and refreshing cucumbers proved to be a great sweet-and-salty combination.

The preparation is easy, with only a bit of chopping, a quick dressing, and flank steak that takes no time on grill. Next time, I'll make the dressing spicier by adding more pepper flakes, or take it to the next heat level with some finely chopped jalapeño. Also, I'd throw the pineapple on the barbecue to caramelize some of the sugar, creating even more complexity.  If you're salivating over this salad, get the recipe here!