Can you believe it’s almost the 4th of July? What the fresh heck is going on. The kids have already officially plowed through one month of summer and I am desperately running around trying to figure out how to press pause and slow things down a bit.
The rain yesterday afternoon was nice. It sort of shut everything down for a few hours and was much needed, especially after five straight days of 90+ heat that included seven baseball games. Whew. The boys got to chill in the AC, mom got to prep for the week ahead and get some content going in the kitchen, and all felt in good balance once again.
I was in a more festive mood yesterday with the 4th right around the corner. We typically host our family for a little BBQ and I like to put one little ‘4th’ twist on something I am serving. Those who watched my Instagram story know I had this idea to make little stars out of cucumbers. Easiest way to have handled this would have been a mini cookie cutter, which I did not have because I am not a crafty kitchen gal. So I decided to basically hand carve cucumbers which didn’t exactly turn out perfectly, but in my whole new phase of striving for good instead of perfect I felt completely at peace with this. A little homemade ‘from scratch’ looking for sure, but who needs actual perfect cucumber stars in their life? No one I want to be around.
The rest was just easy. Red white and blue was a no brainer with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and feta. Threw in some chopped up toasted cashews for crunch and gave it all a great toss with a simple homemade balsalmic vinaigrette.
Easy, festive, a little imperfect, but oh so delicious. Happy 4th Everyone!
4th OF JULY SALAD
Recipe from ALFS
INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD:
One large package of spring mix
One large cucumber
Handful of strawberries, chopped up
Handful of raspberries
Handful of blueberries
Handful of feta
Some chopped up toasted nuts, whatever kind you prefer. I used cashews here.
INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING:
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.
1 garlic clove, minced.
1/2 cup olive oil.
Salt and freshly ground pepper.
DIRECTIONS:
Place your spring mix on a large platter. Slice your cucumber into about half inch rounds and cut out stars as shown in photo (or use a mini cookie cutter here, way easier).
Sprinkle on your berries, feta, nuts, and top with cucumber stars.
Whisk together dressing ingredient and when ready to serve, gently toss with salad ingredients.
Enjoy!
