Happy summer!! This post is dedicated to a vegan friend of mine who, when told about this blog, asked, “Am I going to have to look at gross pictures of meat?” Thanks for making me laugh, Stephen!! Here is a delicious, easy to make, meat-free salad that is perfect for hot summer days!
Once again, I am going to credit Forks Over Knives for this recipe. Of course, I altered it to suit my tastes, but it turned out so perfect!!
I waited until the weekend to make this salad, thinking it might take some time. I was wrong! I could easily make this during the week, after work. The part that took the longest was cooking the barley. Allow yourself a good 40 minutes for that. But, during that time I prepped everything else and kept Mr. FBBQ company while he cleaned his mini-smoker for our upcoming trip up north. If only Mr. FBBQ put as much time into cleaning things in the house as he does with the smokers… But, I can’t fault him too much. He’s pretty cute when he’s dirty with grease and char.
This recipe calls for melon (I used cantaloupe and honeydew), barley, lentils, champagne vinegar, peaches, arugula, chives, a sweet onion, almonds, sea salt, and kiwi. I added kale and baby spinach for a nice mix of greens. I also added little tomatoes and cucumber. The chives, one peach, the salt, and champagne vinegar are for the dressing, the directions stating to blend them all together with a small amount of water. I did so, but opted instead to use a blueberry lavender dressing I had on hand instead.
While the barley cooked, I also cooked the lentils. I recall my first experience with lentils. I was making a casserole and didn’t know that lentils needed to be cooked first. I had read that lentils needn’t be soaked beforehand (contrary to many beans and legumes), so I assumed baking them in the casserole would be adequate. So, I threw those not-cooked lentils into my casserole and put that into the oven. Needless to say, the casserole was crunchy. And inedible. Lesson learned. Cook your lentils!
While things were boiling, I put the kale, spinach, and arugula into a bowl. I then added the finely chopped onion, little tomatoes, diced peaches, melon cubes, cucumber, and diced kiwi. Once the lentils were done cooking, they went into the bowl as well. Lastly, I added the barley once it cooled. I topped the whole thing off with some almonds for some added (not-uncooked-lentil) crunch. I added a bit of the blueberry lavender dressing, but honestly this salad is sweet enough with the fruit that it didn’t really need much. I ate outside in the beautiful summer weather, continuing to keep Mr. FBBQ company while he cleaned those smokers! Now, if I could just get him to clean the bathroom…