My Summer Salad

It's in the 90's in Texas, which has sent me into fresh vegetable overdrive. I wouldn't say I am the best cook, but I am pretty creative and good at making salads! One of my favorite salads is the Nutty Mixed Up Salad at Jason's Deli, and this is my home-made alternative. I am obsessed with it right now, so I thought I would share!

Shopping List:

1. Mixed greens
2. Red grapes, seedless (sliced down the middle)
3. Apples, you will want the crispest with flavor, I used Honey Crisp or Fuji (sliced into small pieces)
4. Garlic and Herb Feta crumbles (this is a MUST)
5. Sunflower seeds 
6. Sliced almonds
7. Chicken breast (either fresh cooked or pre-cooked sliced...I didn't include it on the salad photographed)
8. Low calorie balsalmic dressing, I used Newman's Own

With this dressing, a little goes a long way. Let me know if you try it out.

Sangria Saturday

Sangria can sometimes be a little too sweet, but I found the PERFECT recipe I had to share. It is from the cookbook of one of the best restaurants in Austin, Fonda San Miguel. I made some edits to the recipe, which I noted.

2 oranges, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced
4 cups fresh firm fruits, prepared and sliced as appropriate (we only used the oranges, lemons and limes for this portion but added more of them. You could also add apples, pears or any other fruit here)
1 gallon full-bodied dry red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon (as you can see in the photo below, we picked up Fetzer, which is affordable and tastes good)
1 1/2-2 cups orange liquer, such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 1/2 cups Presidente brandy
2 bunches lemon verbena, washed and stemmed, about 2 cups (we skipped this)
Fresh soft fruits, prepared and sliced as appropriate (we are using pineapple, grapes, kiwi, strawberries)
Club soda, champagne, or sparkling wine (we are using Ginger Ale-it gives it a nice flavor!)

Combine citrus slices and other firm fruits in a large, nonreactive container (we used a glass pitcher). Add wine, liqueur, brandy and lemon verbena. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or up to three days). This time I didn't plan ahead to let it sit overnight-but if you do have time I highly recommend it! When ready to serve, put some soft fruits into each wine glass and fill two-thirds full with the sangria. Top off with a splash of club soda or other sparkling wine.

You can find this recipe and others from Fonda San Miguel, including their AMAZING margarita in an interview with their chef here.