Some friends invited us over to their house and I said I would bring a salad! Any suggestions for an awesome, summery salad? Added degree of difficulty - no onions, no mango, no cheese (allergies/dislikes)

Thanks!

Orzo
red pepper, diced
cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, diced
kalamata olives, sliced
crumbled feta
any fresh herbs you may have on hand or in garden (I like to use basil, lemon thyme, oregano)
dressing - either use your favorite vinegarette or mix olive oil, dijon mustard, lemon juice and whisk

This is always a hit where ever I take it. I do put finely diced onions and feta, but those could easily be omitted. Also, any other vegetables can be added.

My other stand by that is always loved is

nice greens (spinach or romaine or whatever)
sliced strawberries
feta (or leave cheese off)
candied nuts - I make these - very easy, but you could also used plain pecans
dressing - light walnut raspberry (Newman's Own) or other similar

Chopped, seeded cucumber, black beans, quinoa, sliced avocado, seeded, chopped tomatoes, diced jicama, toasted pumpkin seeds, lime cilantro vinaigrette all served on a bed of arugula.

When I make pasta salad I put a bowl of chopped onion and a bowl of shredded mozzerella cheese on the side because of allergies. I just use a hearty pasta and lots of veggies with my favorite italian dressing.

I have an simple but delicious recipe for fresh corn salad, but it uses red onion as a fairly integral ingredient, and I can't think of anything else you could substitute easily. SO...my next idea is another veggie salad:

MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD

1 lb carrots
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Tabasco (or other hot sauce)
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
equal parts fresh lemon juice and good quality olive oil (recipe states 1/4 cup of each, but I always find that's too much, so do it to taste starting with a couple of Tbs. of each)
salt

Peel the carrots and grate them coarsely. Mix with all remaining ingredients and taste - adjust seasoning as needed.

It's not a hearty "main dish" kind of salad by any means, but really nice as a side dish with grilled food. It keeps well, too - and is actually great made up in advance to let the flavors develop before serving.

Romaine lettuce
Mandarin oranges
Sliced strawberries
Pecans
Dressing of olive oil, red wine vinager, parsley, a little hot sauce, and a little Splenda or sugar

One of my favorites for the summer

Strawberry Spinach salad -- YUM YUM!!!
Clean, torn-up spinach
Sliced Strawberries
sliced toasted almonds
a little raspberry vinaigrette
a little creamy poppyseed
easy on the dressings, and don't put the dressing on ahead of time, it makes the salad Yucky after about an hour.

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions!!!

What did you make and how did it go over?? :-)

This is my favorite summer vegetable salad; it just tastes like summer to me.

Yogurt Vegetable Salad

• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 to 4 tsp Dijon mustard (depending on how strong the mustard is)
• 1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 10 oz cucumber, diced
• 6 oz cherry tomatoes halved
• 3 tbsp minced mint or basil leaves
• sea salt and pepper to taste

4 large servings at 100 calories each or 8 smaller servings.

I ended up trying to copy my absolute favorite salad from Seattle's chain of PCC markets (which I miss terribly).

Here is the recipe!

http://www.culinate.com/books/collec...ald_city_salad

I added a little extra garlic, the red cabbage was a nice, crunchy addition, used swiss chard and kale for my greens - and left out the fennel. I cheated and brought some of Trader Joe's wild rice that just needed to be heated up, I thought it tasted great. I really enjoyed the salad, I think it might have been too bitter for other people at the party. I took home the leftovers and have been eating it for 2 days - YUM.

Oh, and for dessert I made molten lava cake (in individual ramekins) with blood orange sorbet - turned out SO DAMN GOOD.

That looks great, but I would blanch the greens or lightly steam them myself. Other than that, I'd make it vegan, just omitting the butter/oil in cooking the rice, and add in toasted pepitas or pine nuts.