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Fresh Summer Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

August 15, 2017

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August is a busy month for the home gardener.  The last of the beans and peas need picking.  Raspberries seem to ripen before your eyes.  Canning is in full swing.  Scorching hot days mean constant watering.  Who has time to make lunch?

This summer salad recipe has the best of what's in season in August: raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, and cucumbers. Whip it up for lunch or dinner when you don't want to turn on

A Seasonal Summer Salad

Today I’m sharing one of my favourite salads that uses ingredients you probably have in your garden or are in season at farmers markets and fruit trucks.  Vegetables have been an acquired taste for me, so feel free to add whatever veggies you like.

This summer salad recipe has the best of what's in season in August: raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, and cucumbers. Whip it up for lunch or dinner when you don't want to turn on

Shake up some easy Raspberry Vinaigrette

Start by assembling the raspberry vinaigrette.  In a mason jar, combine 1 cup of raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar, and 1/2 cup canola oil, as well as salt and pepper to taste.  Really, everything in this recipe is to taste.  Too runny?  Add more raspberries.  Too sweet?  Add more lemon juice or vinegar. Too sour?  Add more sugar.

This summer salad recipe has the best of what's in season in August: raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, and cucumbers. Whip it up for lunch or dinner when you don't want to turn on

Whatever you do, don’t add pickle brine!!

What?  Funny story time.

I was making this dressing one morning at my mother-in-law’s house.  She had recently been making lemon juice and had a lot of lemon juice on hand.  I wasn’t sure which bottle to use, so I grabbed the one without a label, assuming that it was that way because it was the opened one.

Not so.

I tasted my dressing to see if I needed to adjust the ingredients.  Bleh!  Way too salty!!

I knew I put salt in it, but I didn’t think I added nearly as much as I was tasting.  I tried adjusting my ingredients but it still had more salt than I would have liked.

A while later my mother-in-law joined me in the kitchen.

Related: 10 Must-Try Raspberry Recipes

This summer salad recipe has the best of what's in season in August: raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, and cucumbers. Whip it up for lunch or dinner when you don't want to turn on

I told her how I had made this dressing before, but it just didn’t work out this time.  She asked what ingredients where in it.  When I came to the lemon juice, she asked which bottle of lemon juice I used.

She informed me I had used her pickle brine.

Oops.  #soclosetoamazing

Let me tell you about when I used pickle brine in raspberry vinaigrette. Oops. #soclosetoamazingClick To Tweet
This summer salad recipe has the best of what's in season in August: raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, and cucumbers. Whip it up for lunch or dinner when you don't want to turn on

Where was I?

Oh yes, back to recipe instructions!

Anyway, shake the mason jar until the ingredients are combined.  If you like a more savoury hit, you can add a squeeze of dijon mustard.

As for the rest, chop and clean your vegetables, sprinkle on some feta cheese and nuts, and you’re good to go!

Make your salad super pretty by adding some edible nasturtium flowers.  They give a subtle peppery hit to your salad.

Related: No Churn Raspberry Chocolate Icecream

This summer salad recipe has the best of what's in season in August: raspberries, blueberries, lettuce, and cucumbers. Whip it up for lunch or dinner when you don't want to turn on

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Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

16 Comments
Filed Under: Fruit Season, Get Healthy, Recipes Tagged: august, Cucumbers, feta cheese, fruit, Lettuce, mason jar, Peppers, raspberry, raspberry vinaigrette, salad, summer, summer salad, sunflower seeds, walnuts

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Jess says

    August 16, 2017 at 6:22 am

    This looks sooo good!
    Reply
  2. Brenda says

    August 16, 2017 at 11:10 am

    This looks so yummy! I love salads with fruit!
    Reply
  3. Alicia says

    August 16, 2017 at 1:46 pm

    This salad looks so beautiful and vibrant. Great pictures!
    Reply
  4. Lynn Woods says

    August 16, 2017 at 2:17 pm

    This is such a pretty salad! I love adding fruits and nuts for bursts of flavor.
    Reply
  5. Lisa says

    August 16, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    This salad looks divine. Too funny about the pickle brine, does explain the salt though. Your picture is so gorgeous, I had to pin and the story so cute that I had to tweet this too!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 16, 2017 at 7:26 pm

      Thanks so much for all the love!
      Reply
  6. Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome says

    August 16, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    Your salad is gorgeous - so many bright colors! Anything with raspberries in it is right up my alley - I can't wait to give this a try :)
    Reply
  7. Yolanda says

    August 16, 2017 at 6:17 pm

    This salad looks so gorgeous I feel like the picture needs to be printed and framed! I am definitely making and I have all the ingredients in my fridge right now :)
    Reply
  8. Leah says

    August 16, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    This is BEAUTIFUL!!! Almost looks too good to eat!
    Reply
  9. Amanda says

    August 16, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    Ah, found you!! This looks great — I'm definitely going to try to vinaigrette next time I get to the ripe raspberries before my toddler does!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 17, 2017 at 7:23 am

      Oh toddlers!! They always steal all the things, lol.
      Reply
  10. Jordyn Galan says

    August 16, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    This salad is filled with my favorites! I need to try this!
    Reply
  11. Julia says

    August 17, 2017 at 6:51 am

    This looks so yummy!! i always love salads that have fruits in them...I will have to try this : ) ....Side note your photos are also beautiful and i find it can be so hard to photograph food beautifully sometimes, but you did!!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 17, 2017 at 7:22 am

      Thank you for your kind words!
      Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 18, 2017 at 10:14 pm

      Thanks for your kind words. It takes some trial and error. When you're editing, food always looks better if you use the smart sharpen.
      Reply
  12. Kate says

    August 17, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    Wow! I think this is the most beautiful salad I've ever seen! What an amazing combination of ingredients!
    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about the best flowers to plant in a cut flower garden.  There's so many options, these 5 that I talked about all week don't even come close.  If you need more help creating a small cut flower garden, I created this plan intended for a raised bed (but you can plant it in-ground too.⁠
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Hey friends! There's a lot of new faces in this l Hey friends!  There's a lot of new faces in this little corner of IG, so I wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Kristen and I'm the gardener & content creator behind Shifting Roots.  I'm wife to @mgsraney and mom to 3 kids, ages 8, 23 months and 7 months.  Needless to say, our house is BUSY.  I garden in zone 3 in Saskatoon, SK, so if I can grow it in my short growing season and cold temperatures, you probably can too.⁠
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