asparagus
green beans
peas
snow peas
spinach
watercress
mint
strawberries
mandarins
pineapples
papayas
melons

How did I want to put these together? I came up with several ideas, but the one that stuck was this idea for a hollowed out cantaloupe half stuffed with fruit and herbs. I wanted to turn this into a main dish salad, however, so I started adding elements. Ribbons of spinach. Almonds. And to give it more depth, more backbone, more meat, if you will, I added quinoa.

If you haven’t yet heard of quinoa, I’ll give you the lowdown. It’s an ancient grain that dates back to the Incan empire. It’s wheat-free, contains all eight amino acids, is rich in vitamins and minerals, has a slight nutty flavor, and a nice texture. Plus, it only takes about fifteen minutes to cook. It’s gaining in popularity, so some well-stocked supermarkets may carry it, especially if they have a bulk section. If not, check the health food store.

I planned this meal for later in the week, when the weather was supposed to be nice, because what’s better than eating a light, fresh dinner outdoors in the sunshine? Unfortunately, a cold front swooped down from Alaska, and our expected 60 something degrees turned to low 40s. Blech. But I made the bowls anyway, and we grubbed them under the lights of our kitchen, ignoring the weather outside.

One more note. I don’t have measurements for this recipe. As I’ve said, I’m not a big fan of measuring. All I can offer you are guidelines. The basic rule, for me, is to balance. But if you prefer more of something, less of another, by all means—make it your way!!

Cantaloupe Bowls

1 cantaloupe
strawberries
mint
spinach
sliced almonds
quinoa
*lemon poppy seed dressing (see below for additional ingredients you may need)
croissants (optional)

Special equipment: melon baller

Prepare your favorite lemon poppyseed dressing, or purchase from a store. I use the recipe out of The Essential Cookbook, with a few tweaks. *They key is to always use fresh lemon juice and zest if you’re making your own!

Cook the quinoa. The basic method is as follows, and is similar to rice. Double the amount of water to quinoa. If you use 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water will be required. Rinse your quinoa well, then bring the water and quinoa to a boil. Cover. Turn the heat down, let simmer until the water has evaporated and the quinoa is tender. 15-20 minutes. For this recipe, use ¼ to ½ cup quinoa. Let the quinoa cool.

Wash the cantaloupe. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I know many people who don’t wash their produce. No, you won’t be eating the outer rind, but your knife slices through it, right? And besides pesticides, think of all the nasty that’s on the conveyer belts at the grocery store. Don’t believe me? Ask the cashiers. So, please, folks, wash your produce!

Cut the cantaloupe in half, and remove the inner pulp and seeds. Using a melon baller, remove most of the fruit, transferring it to a large bowl.

Cut the strawberries into quarters. Place them in the bowl along with the cantaloupe.

Chop a handful of fresh mint. Add to bowl.

Cut the spinach leaves into thin ribbons. Add to bowl.

Add a handful of sliced almonds to the mixture.

Once quinoa has cooled, add to the fruit, herb, and nut mixture.

Drizzle the lemon poppyseed dressing over the ingredients and lightly toss.

Using tongs, transfer the salad into the hollowed out cantaloupe halves.

Serve immediately. Serving size: 2. Serve with croissants.

Let’s just call it non-committal. A way of easing out of one season and into another. And true to its ambiguousness, the ingredients are measured in abouts, approximates, severals, and palmfuls. If you’re a strict follow-the-recipe kind of cook, beware! But I will try to be as precise as I can.

I should also say this is an easy salad. I made this during my kitchen renovation, and used the microwave to warm the red peppers, beans, and thyme. You could serve it cold, of course, but the flavors seem to meld better when heated on low. Plus, it would go against the part this, part that character of the salad. But it’s your call…

Enough of that, however. On to the salad…

Ready? Okay, here we go.

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach
1 can white beans, such as cannellini
2 roasted red peppers
cherry tomatoes
Parmesan cheese, in brick form
fresh thyme
fresh ground pepper
Italian dressing

1. Wash, de-stem, and spin dry your spinach. Place in a large salad bowl.

2. Slice your roasted red peppers. You can buy these in a jar, or roast them yourselves. If you choose to roast them yourself (I usually do, as they tend to have more flavor), place them on a broiler pan, and broil, turning often, until the skin has charred. Remove, place in a paper bag, and let steam. Once the peppers have cooled, remove the charred skin, and any seeds left inside. Note: It’s advisable to remove the stem before roasting the peppers. They usually burn. Sometimes, they even catch on fire!

3. Rinse your beans. Place in a medium saucepan with the roasted pepper slices. Add a palmful of fresh thyme leaves. Heat until slightly warmed, but not hot. Keep warm until use.

4. Halve several cherry tomatoes, and with your vegetable peeler, shave several slivers off your Parmesan cheese brick.

5. To assemble, toss the spinach with your favorite Italian dressing. Place the desired amount of greens on individual plates. Scatter the beans and red pepper mixture over the top. Add cherry tomatoes , Parmesan cheese, and fresh ground pepper.

Note: If you’re using canned ingredients and bottled salad dressing, try to purchase low sodium versions. Unless you like your food salty, of course.

Note 2: You’re likely to have extra beans and red peppers. Use them in another salad, or get creative, and come up with another use for them!

I still wanted to try a salad that paired fruit with basil, however, so I started thinking about flavors, colors, and what was in season. I’d just picked gallons of blueberries and blackberries, which are in abundance right now in the Pacific Northwest. They’d go well with basil, I thought. Now I needed a contrasting color, because, really, who wants to eat a purple and green salad? I needed red! I needed strawberries! Thought slightly out of season, they can still be found in supermarkets, so I went with them. The end result was gorgeous, and tasted magnificent. Even my husband thought so.

For two people, here’s what you do. For more than two, increase the recipe accordingly.

In a stain resistant bowl, combine 1 heaping tablespoon of chopped basil, ½ tsp. of raw sugar, and a grind of black pepper. Yep, that’s right, black pepper. Don’t be afraid now. Mix until sugar is moistened. (As an alternative, omit the sugar and drizzle honey over the top of the fruit, or omit sweetener all together, if your fruit is sufficiently sweet.)

To the bowl, add ½ pint of washed, hulled, and halved strawberries, ½ cup of blueberries, and ½ cup of blackberries. Gently toss the fruit with the basil mixture. Drizzle with a bit of lime juice, let the salad hang out for five or so minutes to let the flavors mingle, and wallah, you have it.