Happy Summer!

So I think we can all agree that Summer is the best season around.  Think about it.  It stays light til' 8 o'clock, there's good weather, you have time to have parties because you're not drowning in school work or deadlines, World Market becomes even more appealing than normal (hello, can I just buy their entire outdoor entertaining collection please?!) squash, tomatoes, and jalapenos explode out of your garden (at least they do out of my garden), strawberry freezer jam, fruit crisps and crumbles galore, peach cobbler, peach cobbler oh and peach cobbler.  Anyone who knows me well knows I have a soft spot in my heart for peach cobbler.  Of course, it's still a bit early in the season for ripe peaches, so that post will have to wait for awhile.  Still, while I have plenty of time to ponder, if any of you have any stellar peach cobbler recipes, feel free to pass them along.  In the meantime, let's talk about this little baby:

Striped Salmon Salad

I got the idea for it here, one of my newest favorite food sites.  Jenny (yes, I'd like to imagine that we're on a first name basis) included this in an article for Real Simple about being a Dinner Doula for a friend.  The salad is supposed to have added appeal for kids because hey who doesn't love stripes? And also, because they can choose which elements to add to their plates, hence less complaining from any picky eaters you might have.  As we have no ninos, I cannot verify whether either of those statements are true, but for the adult eaters out there I can assure you it's delicious!  The "recipe" if you can call it that is as follows:

1 12 oz. salmon fillet
1/2 lb green beans
2 ears fresh corn
1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in half (the stripe trick didn't work to get my husband to eat tomatoes-rats!)
1/2 English cucumber
Sliced Bell peppers
Simple vinaigrette of your choice*

 Cook the salmon in oven @ 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  While Salmon cooks, shuck, boil, and cut the kernels off the corn, blanch the green beans (3-4 minutes in boiling water then dunk 'em in ice cold water to stop the cooking) and slice the tomatoes and cukes.  When the salmon is done you  can slice it or shred it, whatever you prefer.  Finally, I  served the salad on a bed of spinach with some roasted rosemary potatoes.

Quick, easy, and since the oven is on for such a short amount of time it makes a practically perfect summer meal.  Enjoy!

*I used Jenny's citrus vinaigrette: Whisk 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, a lil sugar, s&p to taste and 1/3 cup olive  oil together.  Or shake well in a clean small mason jar as I like to do.  Drizzle over salad after you've plated your own.