Another delicious summer salad recipe for ya today! This one features plump, juicy, ripe peaches that are warmed and caramelized on the grill. They pair up with toasty walnuts, blue cheese, and peppery arugula and it’s all tied together with a honey & balsamic reduction. What’s not to like!? I’ve included a variation of this recipe that I think would be delicious to try!

Grilled Peach Salad (adapted from here)

• 2-3 ripe peaches, cut in half
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
• butter (or olive oil/Earth Balance/etc. to veganize the recipe)
• 5 oz baby arugula
• 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 4-6 minutes until they are aromatic. Set them aside to cool. Once cooled, give them a rough chop.

In a small saucepan, heat the honey, balsamic vinegar, thyme, black pepper and salt over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the honey and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the honey balsamic syrup cool a bit – it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Preheat a grill pan to high heat. Spread a thin layer of butter over the cut side of the peaches. Place the peaches on the grill, cut side down. Grill until peaches are softened and grill marks appear- 4 to 5 minutes.

Arrange the peaches cut side up over the baby arugula and top with blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

**Variation: Try using apricots instead of peaches, goat cheese instead of blue cheese, basil instead of thyme, and pine nuts instead of walnuts.

When you’re in need of a light meal, salad seems to be the number one option. I say, why not add a little protein to boost your energy and make that small meal last. I love a good salad with some sort of seafood- prawns, crab, calamari. In this case, I chose a recipe for a spinach salad with scallops. The baby spinach is delicate enough to be used with scallops. A crunchy romaine would not go well with this. I also added in some arugula for it’s peppery taste. I love the glaze- it’s simple and has a great asian-influenced flavour.

Baby Spinach with Ginger-Glazed Scallops (adapted from Williams-Sonoma Salads)

• 1 tbsp minced shallot
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tsp grapeseed oil
• pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp peeled, grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• baby spinach and arugula
• 8 sea scallops (about 1/2 lb) (* If your scallops are frozen, make sure they are completely thawed and dried or the glaze will not stick.)

In a small saucepan combine the shallots and the orange juice and let stand for about 10 minutes. Add the lime and lemon juices and place pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid has reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat, stir in 1 1/2 tsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, ginger, honey, and mustard to make a glaze and set aside.

In a frying pan large enough for all the scallops, warm the remaining oil over medium high heat. Add the scallops and sear, turning once, until they are golden (about 30 seconds each side). Add the glaze and reduce heat to low. Turn the scallops in the mixture for about 45 seconds.

Place baby spinach and arugula on serving plates and drizzle with orange juice dressing. Top them with the glazed scallops. Add any remaining glaze from the pan on top. Enjoy!