Beautiful Hot Monday…Something Cool Salad with Fresh Figs and Watermelon

Salad can get a bad rap. People think of bland and watery iceberg lettuce, but in fact, salads are an art form, from the simplest rendition to a colorful kitchen-sink approach.
Marcus Samuelsson

Hot and rainy weather cooking is no fun and quick and easy is the way to go on hot humid days…this week at the cooking club it’s all about something cool and nothing works better than a fresh cool salad with farm stand goodies that are available this time of year.
Inspired by Ina’s arugula, radicchio and parmesan salad recipe I took a few liberties with ingredients for the salad and how yummy it was with the addition of cold sweet seedless Bogue melon cubes, and freshly picked figs from my fig tree…the two little setbacks, I was out of arugula, well what was left in the container was not fit for human consumption so I ended up with a mix of spinach, Romaine, and radicchio for the salad greens then the last lonely lemon for the dressing was not really healthy looking either so my dressing was a nice balsamic honey glaze, EVOO and a little salt and pepper.  The link to her salad recipe is below, but don’t be afraid to adapt original recipes.

My salad was for two so no real recipe, wash and dry your salad greens and radicchio as much as you want and add to the bowl, toss in sweet watermelon cubes, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, (any color or a blend of colors), shaved parmesan, sliced fresh figs, and cool baby cucumber slices.  In a small bowl whisk, 1/4 cup of good balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons, local honey salt, and pepper…drizzle over salad a little goes a long way.

Notes:  Also, consider other types of melons, fruits, and cheese, feta cheese works nicely in this salad as well…
Shaved fresh fennel is very good in the salad, a nice bright and crispy burst of flavor.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/arugula-radicchio-and-parmesan-salad-3500769