Peach, Cucumber and Raspberry Salad

I’ve been looking for some new salad ideas. It seems like I’ve tried every combination of green salad toppings and mix-ins… so I turned to my latest obsession…

Cooking Light’s Way to Cook Vegetarian rocks! Not only does it contain page after page of beautiful photos, I love that it also includes tips, tricks and technique pages as well. The salad recipe I picked was labeled “vegan” – but I know honey is a hot topic debate – so it’s up to you to decide. I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan, so labeling doesn’t really make a difference to me, but I know it’s important to some, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

The Ingredients:
2 Cups Sliced Fresh Peaches
1 Cup Cucumber – peeled, seeded and sliced
1/2 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Rind – I used 1 heaping teaspoon
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Teaspoons Fresh Mint – minced
2 Teaspoons Honey
3/4 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds – toasted and crushed
1/2 Teaspoon Salt – I used less – personal preference
1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
1/2 Cup Raspberries – I used closer to 3/4 cup

Directions:

  1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, tossing gently.
  2. Combine cumin seeds, salt, and pepper; sprinkle over salad mixture.
  3. Add raspberries, and toss gently to combine.
  4. Serve immediately (Yield: 4 servings – serving size 3/4 cup)

Seeding my cucumber… The cucumber gave the salad a nice crunchy texture. When purchasing cucumbers, remember that the smaller the cucumber, the smaller the seeds and the better the flavor. To seed the cucumber, I just cut it in half lengthwise and then scraped the seeds out with a mini spoon – courtesy of Crate and Barrel.

I used a microplane to grate my lemon rind and then put 1/2 in my lemon press to get the tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.

I added the juice and zest/rind to my peaches and cucumbers and then added my honey before tossing.

I toasted my cumin seeds and then totally forgot to crush them before pouring them into the salad bowl. Whoops! I highly recommend not forgetting this step… 🙂 Hard seeds in your teeth… not-so-fun.

I added my raspberries and gently tossed one more time.

Mint leaves bring about a very strong childhood memory for me. I’m not sure who had a mint bush – but someone in the neighborhood did and  I remember eating the leaves with my neighbor Todd. Random… but not surprising as we also collected bugs, played with frogs and set fire to pretty much everything with magnifying glasses.

Back to the salad… I wasn’t positive I’d like the combination of the cucumber with the two fruits – but I did. The salad was very refreshing and I’m sure it would have been even better had I actually crushed the cumin seeds, ha! ha!

Calorie wise – not too shabby – another bonus to using this particular cookbook. Stats in case you are counting…

Calories 144 | Fat 0.4g | Protein 1.4g | Carbs 36.3g | Fiber 3.7g | Chol. 0mg | Sodium 307mg

I look forward to eating this again…

 

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2 comments

    • Kisa on May 25, 2012 at 2:25 pm

    What a beautiful, colorful combination. I think I just may try this one soon.

    Thanks Kathleen, your photos always come out so great!!!!

    Take good care, Lisa C

    • Amy on May 30, 2012 at 12:18 pm

    Beautiful colors… looks delicious 😉

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