Thanks so much to the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market for the opportunity to share a few beautiful summer salads with our local Arizona farmers early summer produce. Having shopped the market for 15 years and leading cooking demos at the market for 4 years, I am honored to be part of our local farmers community.
Thanks to the farmers market and our local farmers for your continued commitment and hard work to provide beautiful, fresh produce and local products to our community during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We all appreciate you and all the farmers and vendors.
Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market: Summer Veggies
Looking forward to the Fall when we can continue our “Shop the Farmers Market” Cooking Demos.
Meanwhile, I’m honored to share two simple, refreshing salads – Tomato Gazpacho and Chopped Salads. Hope you enjoy the recipes and have fun preparing and enjoying them with your family and kids. – Melanie Albert
Enjoy the Summer Salad Cooking Video featuring our local Arizona farmers produce and then create your own Tomato Gazpacho and Chopped Veggie Salad with your family and kids.
Summertime Tomato Gazpacho Recipe
A fresh, cold tomato gazpacho is refreshing, especially on warm days. Make this quick cold tomato salad with our local farmers tomatoes and cucumbers for a tasty summer side dish. Be sure to experiment with all kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.
Simple Ingredients
- 4-5 medium tomatoes, rough chopped
- 2 green bell peppers, seeded and rough chopped
- 1 medium Armenian cucumber, rough chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice and lime zest
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- Sea salt, to taste
Tomato Gazpacho: Farmers fresh ingredients
Simple Steps
- Place tomatoes in a large bowl.
- Massage with hands to break down tomatoes.
- Add sea salt, lime juice and zest, and garlic.
- Mix well.
- Add all other soup ingredients to the bowl.
- Mix well.
- Taste and season with sea salt.
- Top with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro.
- Enjoy!
- Refrigerate leftover gazpacho soup and enjoy the next day for an even more flavorful salad.
Tomato Gazpacho: Mise En Place
Arizona Summer Tomato Gazpacho
Summer Chopped Salad Recipe
Simple Ingredients
Chopped Salad
- 1 carrot, cubed
- 2 cups, green beans, sliced
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1 corn on cob
Summer Chopped Salad: Mise En Place
Dill Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- ½ fresh lemon juice, approximate ¼ cup
- ½ cup olive oil, twice as much as the lemon juice
- 2-3 stems fresh herbs, such as dill
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp stone ground mustard
Dill Honey Mustard Salad Dressing: Mise En Place
Salad Dressing Simple Steps
- Pour lemon juice in a small jar.
- Add olive oil.
- Shake. Taste.
- Adjust with more oil, of too much acid; adjust with more lemon, if too much oil.
- Add sea salt.
- Add honey and mustard.
- Shake.
- Taste and adjust with any ingredients to suit your taste.
Summer Chopped Salad
- Place all veggies into a bowl.
- Pour dressing over the veggies.
- Gently toss.
- Enjoy your fresh salad.
Arizona Summer Chopped Salad
Have fun plating your Summer Salads…A few ideas to get you started. And, take a look at the video to “see” the plating.
Summer Salad: Mise En Place
Tomato Gazpacho. Armenian Cucumber
Arizona Summer Chopped Salad
Chopped Salad: Another View
Chopped Salad. Classic Hummus.
NEW: Corporate Wellness Healthy Eating Programs
In light of the Coronvirus and safety, rather than in-person cooking experiences, we are now creating custom plant-based cooking videos with “cooking kits.” To learn more contact, Melanie Albert at 602.615.2486 or Mel@MelanieAlbert.com
UPDATE: Sedona September Self-Care Plant-Based Cooking Retreat
At this point, we are planning on holding our Fall 2020 culinary and self-care retreat, keeping in mind safety and limiting the number of participants. If you are interested in the September 18-21, 2020 or a custom retreat for your group of friends, let me know, Mel@MelanieAlbert.com Click for a glimpse of our beautiful Fall 2019 Retreat
Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenutritionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Culinary Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.