Since I moved here to USA I've become a season person. I started to pay more attention to the seasonal changes, and not only the weather, but the mood, activities and food, of course.

Most of the time is cold in NYC, or not so hot. But on summertime things are different. I also noticed that my body has some different needs now: during the cold weathers it wants something hot - like braises, soups, roasts... But on summer it goes light, like the fish, for example. And salads. I've been very creative about this now since I can't have the same salad everyday. In my country by salad most of the times we mean lettuce, tomato and onion. Here in America I noticed that instead of onion people usually puts cucumber, and I am not even going to start to give my speech about this vegetable, since you can read my thoughts about it here. (and yes, you should eat your vegetables, and try to eat it more than once, in different preparations)

Now I want to share my ideas and inspire you to create your own salads, and share with the world if something that you create is really good! Here it is:

Spring mix salad

So, I think I'll not be very creative on the names, but my first salad is just the doomed spring mix. I read articles about this and it seems like almost nobody likes them. But let's thing about the spring mix being a way of avoiding some good leaves to go straight to the trash. Let's try to look to this bright size. I know that it can't hold up dressing, that's why you should serve it on the side and let people decide the amount of dressing that goes on the plate. I am not a fancy restaurant, so I will defend the spring mix.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups pf Spring mix leaves
1 cup of shredded carrots
½ chopped fennel
Fennel frond (to taste)
⅓ cup feta cheese
¼ cup walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Put everything together on a big bowl and mix it.

Simple, huh? For the dressing I like to go with the classic combination: lime + olive oil+ salt + pepper. Sometimes I add 1 minced clove of garlic as well.

Cauliflower couscous

This was a request from my husband. If think he had this at work and wanted to have again at home. I have to admit that I was a little bit afraid of doing it, but everything went well. First because I am not a big cauliflower fan. But as my vegetables post says: "try in different ways" I was very optimist about this. Kind of, because once I tried the cauliflower rice and hated it. But maybe it was my own fault, since I cooked it and also I wasn't REALLY that open to this flavor. So I decided to give it a second chance. And I am glad I did.

INGREDIENTS

½ cauliflower
2 cloves of garlic
½ sweet onion
½ sliced zucchini
10 grape tomatoes
10 basil leaves
Salt (to taste)
Chili flakes (to taste)
Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-heat the oven at 350 F (180˚C). Place zucchini on the olive oil and then transfer it to a pan sheet with parchment paper. Leave space on half of the pan for the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half and pour it in a mix of salt, chili flakes and olive oil. Then transfer to the sheet pan with the inside turned up. Place the pan sheet in the oven for 20 minutes - turn the zucchini side on the half. In a food processor place the cauliflower florets and chop it (you can use either the razors or the shredded blade for it).

Fresh and delicious!

Strawberry vinaigrette

I saw this recipe on a Brazilian TV cooking show once and since then I was intrigued by its flavor. In my country we usually have a classic vinaigrette sauce, specially for barbecue, made with green bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar plus some herbs and spices. Nothing fancy, but very, very popular. But this is a much fancier version. Also is a low FODmap diet friendly, since I did some changes on the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup strawberries
1 tomato
¼ fennel
½ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Fennel frond (to taste)
½ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash the strawberries and the tomato. Starting by the strawberries, take off the green part and slice it in half, them cut in strips and then in cubes. Take off the tomato seeds and cut it in cubes. Cut the fennel in cubes as well. In a bowl mix everything together and start adding the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and the salt. Take it to the fridge and put the fennel fronds on top of it before serve for a fresh taste.

Quinoa Mexican Inspired

I absolutely love Mexican food. Last time I was there I only had pizza and soda. First because I was a vegetarian and so afraid of trying new things, even the veggie friendly ones. But still, I love it. In Brazil I only had the TexMex version of it, but here in NYC I've got a bite on some authentic dishes, or something really close to it. Sometimes I try to bring a bit of these flavors home. I think the Mexican cuisine is so fresh and perfect for the summer. Since it's a country full of coast (did you know that it's possible to reach the coasts at the same day? I mean, if you have a lot of money, of course!) we can understand why their food is fresh, but they have their heavy side as well.

Since I am doing salads here, my inspiration was something light. Let's go to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

½ lbs clean shrimp
½ cup of quinoa
1 corn on the cob
1 radish
1 roma tomato
½ red onion
1 lime
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 garlic gloves

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the quinoa on a pan with 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on medium heat until it gets soft. Meanwhile, cover the corn on the cob on plastic wrap and take it to the microwave for 4 minutes on high power. Let it rest and let it cool down. Slice the radish with a mandolin, then cut it into thin strips (or use the julienne blade). Cut the tomatoes in half, take off the seeds and chop it into cubes. Also do cubes with the red onion. Put the shrimp on a bowl and let it sit on a mix of garlic, ½ lime juice, salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Stir fry the shrimp with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and season with salt, pepper, olive oil and lime juice. Add the shrimp and devour everything!