Zucchini Cantaloupe Summer Salad

I’ve been posting up a lot of zucchini recipes lately because that’s what’s growing in the garden. Feel free to use a cucumber instead if you like those guys better. There’s also something about warm weather that makes me love fruits even more than usual, especially cantaloupe, and because of that these two items have been my staples for the past few weeks of summer. So here’ s an easy recipe to whip together in just a few minutes and enjoy on it’s own or as a nice palete cleanser after a big BBQ.

You’ll need:

Sliced cantaloupe
Slivered zucchini (you can use a mandolin for this)
Pomegranate seeds
Walnuts
Apple slices
Splash of vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
Olive oil
S & P

The hardest part with this is slicing everything up, and honestly that’s not very hard if you enjoy cooking. The only tricky one is the zucchini slices. When you have a mandolin it’s a breeze. If you don’t, you can attempt some thin slicing with a filet knife or try out the potato peeler, but I do recommend the slicer, it doesn’t cost very much and you can use on all kinds of veggies.

Put all the ingredients together in a large bowl and toss it for just a few minutes to make sure everything is coated evenly. Amounts vary based on how many you are cooking for and which ingredient you like most, I know a lot of people like everything to be precise and measured, but that’s not always how I cook especially with salads that I’d like to share. Go very, very light on the vinegar, just a cap full or two at first, you can always add more but you can’t subtract it easily if you go too far. A squeeze of lemon juice is another great alternative to the vinegar or feel free to try it with out any extra zing, dressing it in just the oil and salt. I love how the salt crystals enhance the sweetness of the cantaloupe in this, I’m using a chunky pink Himalayan these days because the color is fun and it tastes great. The walnuts add some crunch and have healthy omega fats in them that we need for brain and mood health. You could also sprinkle a few antioxidant-packed chia seeds on here to enhance the benefits of the dish.