let’s talk about salad season

Now that it's June, it is time to think about backyard parties. And wearing white jeans. And replacing your regular duvet cover with linen. This last one I may have done before Memorial Day.

Memorial Day weekend is usually a bust weather-wise around here, and this year proved no exception. We went to a movie at the library on Friday, then on Saturday took the kids to the theater to see Tomorrowland during yet another round of showers. Just a little PSA: this movie might be a bit scary for some kids. Like Théa. Gus, however, absorbed every single minute of it and thought it was the best thing ever. Especially the robots. With guns. It should be obvious at this point that I made a tactical parenting error taking my five-year-olds to this movie. Also your kids might not want to go on It’s A Small World after seeing this movie. I’ll leave you to decide whether that is a good or bad thing.

Between showers, we got out in the garden, cleaned up the house, and Rob even got to do a little fishing with his sister, nephew, and one of the boys. Such excitement. I don’t know how you can stay in your seats.

Of course, it was Memorial Day weekend, so we were obliged to grill something. We grilled fish on Friday night, shrimp and chorizo skewers on Sunday night, and sausage burgers with green chiles on Monday night. I have no earthly idea what we cooked on Saturday. I should totally have pictures of all of these things but I don’t. Send the blogger police right over.

I’m not here to talk about main dishes. (But I will say that you should try all three of these recipes. And if you can get jalapeño sausage from Bourgeois Meat Market instead of chorizo, go with that.) I’m here to talk about salads.

You’ve no doubt made traditional pesto before. Basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and salt all whirled up in the food processer. Excellent. It’s time to try arugula pesto. With mint. And green beans. And almonds. And lots of cheese.

This salad makes a perfect side for a picnic or barbeque or potluck. It takes very little time and looks impressive. Except that my photo looks horrible. You’ll just have to make it yourself. If you aren’t feeling the love on the green beans, try rigatoni with kale pesto. 

I can't actually believe that there is a photo on my blog with paper plates and a 20 year-old homemade quilt. I must be losing it. For the record, I did NOT buy those paper plates. I did, unfortunately, make the tacky quilt, but that is a story for another time. 

I'm typically not a kale pusher, but kale and farro salad is definitely a crowd pleaser. If you are just totally pressed for time, go with a simple spinach salad (see first photo above). Add some blackberries, walnuts, and blue cheese. So easy, even a five-year-old can make it.

Or you could always just bring a bag of chips and a hunk of cheese.