Taste of Summer Recipe

Light, cold, colourful meals are kind of a staple of summer. In this heat I doubt you will want to be eating a hot, big, overfilling dish when its 4o degrees outside.

That’s why I teamed up with one of my best friends to help create the perfect taste of summer recipe. As I mentioned in my last article, I hardly eat salads because they just aren’t really “my thing”. I recently discovered I like salads a lot more when they have Dorito chips in them (thanks Cause and Effect for making the one healthy thing unhealthy and delicious) but I also learned how great salads can taste if they have a delicious dressing to accompany them. Also, I’ve realized how much I have been craving cold, light salads to help cool me down in this disgusting heat.

Thats where Erika comes in… Erika is a foodie like me, and has created an INCREDIBLE salad dressing recipe. When she was telling me about this recipe she created, I knew I had to share it. I asked her to come onto my website and please share this delicious recipe with you, and I am so happy she said yes.

So here it is your, new go to, light, refreshing Taste of Summer recipe.

Hi everyone- Erika here. I am so happy to be sharing one of my favourite recipes with you. But first let me give you a quick introduction on how Courtney and I met, and what brought me here. Courtney and I met a few years ago, back in our bartending days. We ended up hitting it off so well that we travelled half way across the world together in a spur of the moment trip to Australia. 

Taste of Summer Salad with Home made Creamy Avocado Dressing

During our three weeks in Australia, we created many amazing memories together exploring, relaxing on the beach, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, and hiking through mountains. We also created great memories over food while trying out many different restaurants. Safe to say we learned that we share the same love for good food. Whether we’re sitting down for a nice dinner, or catching up over a couple app’s – we love to eat.

Not only do I love to eat, I love to cook. I’m half Italian so you could say it's kind of a given.
I am a big fan of using fresh, whole ingredients and making things from scratch whenever I can. Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you one of my favourite homemade salad dressings – a creamy avocado dressing. This dressing is very easy to make, and is the perfect addition to the salad along side your summer BBQ, or to enjoy at home if you want something new and tasty to try out.

Making your own dressing from scratch is a great way to skip the store bought bottled dressings that can be full of added salt and preservatives to extend shelf life. This is also a very easy place to start if you want to begin to make healthier swaps in your diet. 

For the base of this dressing I use avocado. Rich with good fats, avocados are a great addition to your vinaigrette dressing to get that creamy texture.

For this recipe I use rice vinegar. I like rice vinegar because I find it has a milder vinegar taste to it compared to red or white wine vinegars. I also make this recipe in my Magic Bullet. For those of you who have a Magic Bullet, I enjoy using this option because of it’s handy lids it comes with. I find it very convenient to be able to seal the blending cup with a lid and be able to store any extra in the fridge for next days use.

If you don’t have a Magic Bullet, don’t worry. Any blender will work just fine.

This dressing is great with fresh greens and veggies, but also mixes well with added protein. That’s why I have attached my favourite, easy go to salad recipe. Not only does this dressing work great for the given recipe, but it will go well with almost any salad combo you desire. 

I hope you enjoy! After you make it and it’s too pretty to not take a picture of, please tag me and Courtney on your Instagram post. We would love to see it!!
@erikaamauro
@bycourtneytodd

Now, I won’t make you wait any longer for the main thing you have came here for so here it is :

TASTE OF SUMMER SALAD:
Ingredients:

• 100grams of chicken or shrimp (season with cajun spice if desired)

• 1 handful of spinach

• 1 handful chopped romaine lettuce (if you don’t want to use spinach AND romaine, feel free to chose whatever one you’d prefer)

• 1/3 cup of chopped cucumber

• 1/3 cup of red or green peppers

• 1/4 cup of chopped tomato

• Option: 1/3 cup of your favourite vegetables - chopped carrots, onions, etc.

• Sprinkle 15grams of feta cheese on top

CREAMY AVOCADO DRESSING:
Ingredients:

home made creamy avocado dressing

Made with my Magic Bullet

• 1 whole ripe avocado

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 3 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1/4 lime juice - I use fresh lime

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Cut your ripe avocado into half, and remove the pit. Scoop out the inside of the avocado into your blender.

2. Add the olive oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic powder, black pepper and blend until smooth. 

3. Add salt to taste.

4. Optional: if you’re finding the consistency too thick, add a splash of water and blend. Continue to do this until a desired consistency is reached. 

5. ENJOY!