Recipe: Grilled apricot and feta salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Grilled apricots are the star of this early summer salad. Debbie Arrington
Grilled apricots stuffed with feta cheese are a classic summer appetizer. Why not use that same combination in a salad?
This colorful salad offers plenty of contrasting combinations; softened by grilling, the sweet-tart apricots complement the vibrant greens. Almonds and celery add crunch.
Grilled apricot and feta salad
Makes 2 large to 4 small servings
Ingredients:
4 large apricots
Olive oil
1 stalk celery, strings removed and chopped
2 cups lettuce, shredded
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
For balsamic vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon seasoning salt
2 teaspoons sugar
For salad:
¼ cup feta cheese, reserving half for topping
2 tablespoons almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
Instructions:
Heat grill to medium.
Halve apricots and remove pits. Dip both the cut sides and skin sides in olive oil. Grill apricots, cut side down, until almost soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the grill and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine chopped celery, lettuce and spinach.
Make vinaigrette: In a small bowl or covered jar, mix extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, seasoning salt and sugar.
Add vinaigrette to the salad bowl and lightly toss the greens.
Cut grilled apricot halves in half again. Add apricots, half the feta cheese, the almonds and the raisins to the salad bowl; toss lightly.
Serve on plates or bowls. Use remaining feta as garnish.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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