Summer Salads and Salsas

Yesterday was Memorial Day, aka the unofficial start of summer, and to celebrate the glorious weather that we had all weekend, Nick and I whipped up some delicious meals.  Is there anything better to eat in the summer than fresh fruits and veggies?  They're so refreshing, especially when eaten al fresco, as we have been by using our patio for meals all weekend.

We are lucky enough to live right by Tanner Brothers Farm, where we buy all of our milk and produce.  It is insanely cheap too!  The only downside is having to listen to country music while you shop.

On Sunday we picked up a ton of fruits and veggies to make a corn salsa, pasta salad, and fruit salad, three of our summer favorites.  They're all pretty easy to make, but chopping up everything takes a bit of time.  Here are the recipes for you to enjoy:

Corn Salsa

This is basically pico de gallo with corn added.

4-6 large ears of corn
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 jalepeno, minced
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped finely
Garlic salt, to taste
Juice from 2 limes

Boil the corn and then cut off the kernels.  After everything is chopped up, combine in a bowl.  We ate ours as a side dish, but then decided that it really needs the saltiness of a good tortilla chip.  Next time!  I kept a bowl of black beans on the side for me to add to my salsa since Nick isn't a fan.  They add a nice layer of flavor if you're into them!


Pasta Salad

This is actually my mom's recipe that we tweaked a bit by adding in grape tomatoes. 

1 box tri-color rotini
8 oz. Zesty Italian salad dressing
1/3 red onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
4 oz. freshly shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 small container of quartered grape tomatoes (optional)

Like the corn salsa, you basically chop everything up and combine in a bowl.  We had this for dinner tonight after a day full of kayaking and it really hit the spot.


Fruit Salad
I feel a little silly listing out a recipe for fruit salad.  Basically you pick up all of the fruits that you love, chop them up, and combine in a bowl.  Our favorite fruits to include are cantaloupes, strawberries, nectarines, pineapples, and plums.  Although we love bananas and grapes, they don't make it into our fruit salad because the bananas tend to get mushy and the grapes tend to get sour.  In our opinions, they just don't play well with the other fruits!  But if you love them in your fruit salad, go for it.


After this weekend, our summer is shaping up to be filled with yummy and colorful salads.  What are your favorite summer recipes?