Green and white salad for dinner on the deck

The first day of the July long weekend dawned with torrential rain and low clouds and I am ashamed to admit that we had breakfast at about 11:00 and did not get dressed until after noon.  We finally set out to the teeming metropolis of Maderia Park to hunt and gather for dinner and rent a movie for later.  At the liquor store they assured us that by 6:00 we would be able to enjoy a glass of wine outside on the deck.  Though at the time that seemed impossible her prediction came true.

At 6:00 we were indeed sitting out on the deck enjoying a glass of wine before dinner.  We had picked up some lovely baby back ribs from The Oaktree market and cooked them in a dry rub and finished them off on the barbecue.

Nancy made a delicious light salad with some spectacular local oak leaf lettuce also picked up at the Oakstreet market.

This made a salad for two.

½ head of lettuce

6 radishes sliced

1 avacado chopped 

Juice of ½ lemon

½ bunch of green onions chopped

¼ cauliflower chopped

Chop the avocado in to a small bowl and toss with the lemon juce, then combine with the remaining salad ingredients in a bowl.

Dressing 

Juice of  ½ lemon

1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

pinch of sugar

½ teaspoon of dijjon mustard

Combine all the dressing ingredients in the same small bowl that the avocado was tossed in the lemon juice. Mix until combined with a fork.  Just before serving pour over the salad and toss and serve in a nice salad bowl. The rich softness of the avocado contrasted beautifully with the crisp cauliflower and bright lemony dressing.

We also roasted some mini peppers and Campari tomatoes along with some garlic and fresh basil.

We had the ribs along with this salad and roasted mini peppers and tomatoes and local new potatoes simple boiled with a little fresh mint.

By the time dinner was served at 7:00 the day had completely turned aound and it was a glorious evening.

The sun was shining and in fact it got so warm we had to move into the shade!  Sadly this was not to last and Sunday dawned with low clouds and drizzle, so I am glad we made the most of the little nice weather that we had.