Summer Squash & Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese

I tossed this together for my lunch the other day. It's the perfect example of what I do regularly. With plenty of green and yellow summer squash coming out of home gardens, you'll find this one a winner. It fits my simple and quick to prepare requirements.

From now on simple and quick shall be known as SAQ—yes, it's time to give those recipes an identity.

This recipe includes smoked paprika. If you haven's discovered this spice, you better go get some. Once you start adding it to recipes, you can become a revered chef like me (in my own head).

For dressing I used what I had pre-made, which is typically equal amounts of extra-virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I might add a bit of balsamic vinegar, honey, lemon or lime, spices or even fruit concentrate. Mix a tiny amount of this and that and you've got yourself a delicious fresh dressing without all the #%*&% added that you find in store-bought dressing—even the organic ones. The additives are just as hard to decipher as #%*&%.

Summer Squash & Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese

from Chris Pedersen

yield 1-2 servings

category Salad

cuisine Raw, Vegan

ingredients

1 yellow squash, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 handful spinach, chopped small

1/8 C crumbled goat cheese feta

1 leaf of kale, chopped small

1-2 shakes smoked paprika

Dressing

directions

1. Combine vegetables in a bowl.

2. Add smoked paprika and dressing.

3. Toss and serve.

I only eat non-cow dairy. Although feta cheese is traditionally made with sheep's milk and maybe some goat's milk, you can find lots of feta now made from cow's milk... tsk tsk. Check when you order something with feta cheese at a restaurant. It might not be what you think.

I love the Valbreso Feta at Costco imported from France (pictured left). I cut it up into slabs and freeze each one. I don't eat enough to use the whole brick before it turns too soft to crumble. If you're looking for real feta, don't buy the large container of feta next to the Valbreso at Costco, it's cow's milk.

What did you create on the spot with ingredients on hand? Please share.