I just got back from an extended vacation in Guam where it was HOT. But on a tropical island, that is to be expected. However, in San Diego, HOT is an insult to all of us who don’t bother with air-conditioning in our 1930’s-built houses.

You can’t cook in this kind of HOT (mostly because your tiny galley kitchen will turn into an inner circle of hell complete with hollow-eyed souls begging for drops of water on their parched tongues AKA your kids–but they’ll most likely be asking for soda instead of water which you want to deny them until they aptly point out that you are drinking freezer-chilled white wine which is almost like soda, so then you get them “kinder-beers” and tell them to get the hell out of your kitchen (well not exactly ‘get the hell out of’ but I wanted to make a hell pun so there)). Therefore, I made a series of salads for a picnic dinner that nicely used up all the CSA veggies that had accumulated in my absence.

Black-eyed pea salad over arugula topped with avocado (think Texas Caviar with a Louisiana Twist)

Tomato salad with dill and onions and chile pepper spice

Caprese salad

Ceviche (I know, I know, not a true salad but no cooking necessary and I have a critical fish back up from my fish CSA)

Cantaloupe salad with feta and basil over Swiss chard tossed with balsamic vinegar:

The last one was freaking awesome and pretty much totally sprung from my thigh as a full-fledged adult (read: I couldn’t find any recipes that matched this one, so I think I made it up).

1-2 ripe cantaloupe, diced
1/4 small yellow onion, finely diced
basil, ribboned
feta cheese, crumbled
really really good olive oil, a teeny bit
salt
pepper

Swiss chard (or any chard really–any glen will do), ribboned
really really good balsamic vinegar, to taste
salt
pepper

Take the first set of ingredients and toss them together. Refrigerate a bit.

Take the second set of ingredients and toss them together. Refrigerate a bit (more vital because it allows the chard to break down some).

Make a nest of the chard mixture on a plate. Top with the cantaloupe mixture. Comment how awesome it is.

Because it is awesome.

And I miss Guam.