A beautiful composed salad as beautiful to look at as it is delicious and refreshing to eat!  A slice of focaccia and a glass of chilled Italian Rosè wine – voilà – the perfect summer meal!

I love going to the Farmer’s Market in the summer!  There are so many wonderful fruits and vegetables at peak perfection.  The family joke is that soon I will need a second refrigerator in the garage because I just can’t resist buying everything I see!  Of course, growing up, EVERYONE had an extra refrigerator and freezer in the garage!! 

Salads are the perfect thing to make when temperatures soar into the nineties as they have done recently.  No need for an exact recipe – you could use spinach or baby kale for the greens or peaches instead of nectarines.  Try using different nuts – candied pecans or toasted pine nuts or feta cheese instead of goat cheese.  I have included a simple dressing recipe.  You can make it with all lemon juice and no vinegar, and more or less honey for sweetness to your taste.  Because this salad is a composed salad, I prefer to plate it individually, drizzle with just a touch of dressing and serve extra dressing at the table.