Chill Out: Refreshing Soup & Salad Days

Roasted Beet & Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Glaze Dressing – Click Here for Recipe Post

Ninety Five Degrees! That’s hot for anywhere, but it’s particularly hot for Vermont. We don’t see many 90+ days here in the Green Mountains. Yes, it looks like this will definitely be a long, hot summer. And although I don’t mind the heat, I am hoping for a break from the sun. We need a few days of soaking rain across North America to ease the pain of drought.

Fortunately, I’ll be spending most of this week working on garden design drawings and consultation notes from the comfort of my Secret Garden Room. That means lunches at home, with fresh produce from the garden. Plentiful herbs add pizazz to even the simplest of salads —click here for a great, garden-fresh herb vinaigrette for greens— and early, sun-gold tomatoes make fantastic Golden Days of Summer Gazpacho. I’ve been experimenting with some new recipes, but until I have time to post more, I thought I’d share some favorites from the archive (click on any photo or caption and follow the recipe link). You can find more garden-fresh recipes on the “Potager and Recipes” page at left sidebar, in the “Recipe Archive” link in the right sidebar —there’s also a Cocktail Recipe link for the twilight hours— and find even more by scrolling down the main page here. Last night I enjoyed fresh, roasted beet salad and over the weekend, I made a large bowl of my Tante Maria’s famous gurkensalat (well, famous in my family, anyway).

Vinaigrette with Garden-Fresh Herbs – Song of Summertime Salad – Click Here

In summertime, I often have soup or salad, perhaps with a sandwich and Lemon-Mint Sun Tea, for lunch. And when it’s hot outside, sometimes a big salad will be my main evening meal. How about you? Do you chill out with cold meals in the dog days of summer? What are some of your favorites?

Tante Maria’s Gurkensalat (German Cucumber Salad) – Click Here for Recipe Post

Golden Days of Summer Gazpacho – Click Here for Recipe Post

Chilled Haricot Vert Salad with Garden-Fresh Herb Vinaigrette & Feta – Click Here for Recipe Post

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