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Summer Salads: Recipes for Homemade Croutons

Recipes for Homemade Croutons

One of the great joys of summer is salad made with local greens. It’s vibrant, green and refreshing. It tastes of cool breezes on hot days and warm paperback pages read on a sunny porch. It’s something that you really start to appreciate the older you get …

Today, the kids and I scored a few heads of Boston Bibb lettuce at the farmers market. I like romaine and iceberg and other lettuces just fine. But I relish in a salad made with either fresh spinach or Boston Bibb … I love the firm, smooth leaves – not firm as in hard, but firm as in solid and having some mass.

Top it with some fresh strawberries sliced up while they are in season, or some juicy, just off the vine, tomatoes later in the season. Even blueberries or sliced apples (at the end of summer) can make a nice salad topper.

And then comes the crunch. For me, a salad just has to have that crunch. And what better crunch than homemade croutons? Just slice up whatever leftover bread you have (sometimes, for me, it’s my fav semolina bread ends. Other times, it’s leftover hamburger buns or even just slightly stale sandwich bread — in a pinch, of course), season and go.

Looking for inspiration? Check out these delightful ideas:

Recipes for Homemade Croutons

maris

Friday 3rd of July 2009

Ooh I made homemade croutons this weekend too. So delicious! And so much better than any of the versions that come bagged in the supermarket.

Cate O'Malley

Wednesday 1st of July 2009

Mmmm, love homemade croutons, especially flavored ones ... and on top of local produce? Perfect!