A few weeks ago, I started thinking of fall flavors (seriously, when did seasons become flavors to me?). Apples, pumpkins, squash, Brussels sprouts … I started to scheme about how I could use them to create new dishes.

The first thing that came to mind: Apple Cider Vinaigrette.

Not a dressing that just uses apple cider vinegar, though: One that uses actual apple cider to create a sweet, tangy lettuce-coating dressing. Something that could bridge the light foods of summer with the bone-warming foods of winter. Could cider in a dressing even work?

I’ve been working on this recipe ever since, trying to get it just right. And guess what? I did. It’s earthy and lightly sweet, with that tinge of tang I wanted. Even Shawn, who isn’t a vinaigrette fan at all, liked it a lot.

As for the salad above? It’s romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size bits with half a Haas avocado sliced, about eight medium shrimp that were just steamed, two slices of pancetta fried until crisp and about an ounce of Danish blue cheese. Yum.

Next time though, I would choose a lettuce with a less aggressive taste like a Boston Bibb. I think that would make this salad — and dressing — absolutely perfect.

P.S. The cute bottle? It’s a glass flask from The Container Store. I bought it on a recent trip into New York and absolutely love it for dressings like this. It stores in the fridge well and is absolutely airtight. I use a small funnel to help ease the dressing in without spilling. Both are awesome to have in your cupboard if you love to make your own dressing.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1/3 cup apple cider
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk all of the ingredients together. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to one week.

It all started with the cabbage I’ve been growing. It was taunting me and I knew it was time to finally — finally — use it. Then the beets in the back of my fridge gave me a nudge. Before I knew it, I was writing a list of ingredients and trying to figure out how much dressing I would really need.

The result was the salad you see above. It’s light and refreshing, unexpected but delicious. The raw beets add a nice punch of color, flavor and snap. The vinaigrette is neither too acidic nor too meek. It adds just the right balance to the other flavors.

When I made this, it was to share. I intended it for our camping trip, another family’s camping trip and my newest neighbor. The recipe made plenty, and since it wasn’t a mayo-based dressing, this slaw stood up better to the challenges of chilling in a cooler. It remained crisp and perfect. I imagine this would be great for a backyard barbecue too (Labor Day is coming!).

Perhaps the greatest endorsement though? I gave Will and Paige each a taste before packing up our portion of the slaw. Paige stood next to me, chewing and then opening her mouth to demand more on repeat until I finally laughed and said we really needed to go. She just couldn’t get enough.

Vinaigrette Beet Slaw
serves 12

1 large green cabbage (10-12 inches in diameter)
1 small red cabbage (4-6 inches in diameter)
1 lb beets, scrubbed, peeled and ends removed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used purple basil, but regular basil works just as well)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt

Special equipment: Full size food processor

Using a large, full-size food processor, shred the cabbages and beets. Transfer to a very large bowl (you need room to stir) and use a large spoon to mix the cabbages and beets together.

In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, parsley, basil, garlic and salt. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir well. Then transfer to airtight containers until ready to serve (be sure to evenly distribute the juices at the bottom of the bowl between the storage containers. Chill.

Stir well before serving.

“What’s in this? This is interesting.”

That was my husband’s reaction when he tasted the salad tonight. It was a simple mix of baby greens (one bag for $1 at the farmers market today — just enough for one dinner) and a homemade basil vinaigrette. I skipped the cheese and ignored the croutons and just did an ultrasimple salad. And it worked, or I thought it did.

Of course, upon hearing interesting, my mind raced to all sorts of unfavorable places, as minds are wont to do. Did that mean it was simply vile? Gross? Missing some key component? Did my mix of sweet and savory with a hearty dose of basil just spell major F-A-I-L? Would I be totally screwed on my plan of blogging this dressing tonight?

I pretty much had declared culinary disaster in my head. Words like interesting, unusual, different … they will all do that to me. They don’t exactly speak volumes about greatness. Sorry, but I would much rather be told something is amazing.

Fortunately, he went on to tell me that it was “very basil-y, which is good” and had a slight bit of sweetness (yes, it does), which was good too. The flavor is light, but brimming with the sunny freshness of basil. The vinegar and garlic complement the flavors, lending tang and a touch of bite to the dressing. For me, I could totally imagine eating a salad with this basil vinaigrette while digging my toes into warm sand at the beach. It just has summer written all over it.

Turns out, for my husband, that actually wasn’t a bad interesting — he liked it too. Can there be good interesting? I guess so. But he also had one request: next time, don’t skip the homemade croutons and sprinkling of cheese.

I suppose that isn’t too much to ask.

Basil Vinaigrette

This recipe makes enough to dress at least two family-sized salads.

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine the basil, garlic, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until everything is mixed up and chopped into tiny bits. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture and process until emulsified.

Use this to dress a salad immediately, or transfer to an air-tight container and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

More Homemade Salad Dressing Ideas:

• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Mustard Vinaigrette @ Reluctant Gourmet
• Basic Vinaigrette @ Bitten
• Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette @ FitSugar

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 left over 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

• Extra Easy Cheese Croutons at Sarah’s Cucina Bella
• Homemade Garlic Croutons at Sarah’s Cucina Bella
• Amy’s Homemade Croutons (herbed croutons) at The Mother Load
• Buttery Homemade Croutons at The Food Channel
• Sourdough Garlic Herb Croutons at Our Best Bites
• Sourdough Garlic Croutons at Pinch My Salt

Today started out as one of those ethereal days where the sky is impossibly blue and the clouds are a fluffy jungle kingdom. You just want to be outside on a day like today, and we made sure to spend a lot of time outdoors.

The kids and I rose later than usual, which is a treat for any mom, but particularly one who rises at the crack of dawn most days … and then we made our way through baths and bananas (they each have one almost every morning). Then we were off with a purpose: to find out if one of the local farmers markets would be opening today … the answer was no. But we are now just a few weeks away from the opening of another local farmers market, so I guess we will just hang tight for a little longer. But, I must admit, I was really hoping to score some garlic scapes, which have an impossibly short season.

After that, we headed off for an on-the-go breakfast and then settled in at a local recreation area for a long walk and rolling picnic, which is becoming a very fun habit for us. The kids and I pack up food in small portions and head to this park. They settle into the double stroller and eat — sometimes it’s lunch, sometimes a snack and today it was breakfast. While they eat, I walk, pushing them over hills and through meadows and across this fantastic area. It’s a lot of fun.

This afternoon, I harvested some of our spinach for a salad and some rosemary too. To go with the salad (spinach, strawberries and blue cheese), I made (in five minutes — seriously — including prep) some quick, tasty croutons using a leftover hard roll. Not only does it use up a roll that might otherwise have been left to rot, but these little delicately crunchy bread bits are OMG good.

How was your Sunday?

Extra Easy Cheese Croutons

These are exceptionally easy to make. My oven has a toast setting that I make them with, however if you don’t have that, you could make them using the broiler setting but you must watch them very closely to prevent them from burning — it will only take a few minutes. Whatever you do, do not preheat the oven.

1 hard roll
olive oil
salt and pepper
hard cheese for grating (such as Romano or Parmesan; Asiago works great too)

Cut the hard roll into large chunks (about 1″ x1″ x 1/2″). Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet and grate cheese onto the bread.

Place in the oven and set to toast (alternatively you can use the broiler setting — but you MUST watch them for the entire 2-5 minutes). Toast until golden — 2-5 minutes.

That salad was my reward for this week.

See, this was one of those weeks. Surely, you know the ones. It jolted to a  start at a breakneck speed first thing on Monday. After a relaxing weekend running errands and hanging out with my cousins, I realized I had some work due earliy-ish on Monday. I frantically worked to meet a 12 p.m. deadline on this extra project. Frantically. And that is how the whole week felt – just frantic. I got everything done on time every day, but the pace just didn’t stop. I wrote and wrote and wrote, but I never really felt at rest. I just couldn’t turn off the feeling of rushing.

Then today rolled around … and I do mean rolled. I woke up late, after accidentally hitting the off button on the alarm at 6 a.m. instead of snooze. So, off to another breakneck morning, I went and went and went until just before noon when I raised my head from my agenda and realized … I was pretty much done. A few follow up calls later (actually I took a break and then made the calls), it was mid-afternoon and I was free.

At first I was like “what now?”

Then I just started writing. Yes, I finished writing, just to write a little more. You do realize I am a writer, right? Actually, it made sense. I channeled my peaceful feeling into a little get-ahead work. I sent out a few pitches to magazines and then drafted an essay that still needs a lot of work. But that first draft? Getting it on paper felt so, so good.

So this salad was the reward for a week well worked. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that are the best rewards . . .

The Easy Tuna Salad

It’s very simple – a nice piece of wild Alaskan tuna that was rubbed with equal parts kosher salt and fresh pepper, browned for about two minutes on each side (I like it medium rare). I cut the tuna into chunks, toss it on a bed of baby greeens (with a few carrots and sunflower seeds) and drizzled it with Sesame Soy dressing from Trader Joe’s. Easy peasy.

Earlier this week, Glamour Magazine’s Storked! blogger Christine Coppa asked readers what they like in salads. The responses were plentiful with ideas. Me? I like lots of veggies, a bit of cheese and usually a protein. Mmm. But that got me thinking about how my salad style has really changed. I used to think that salad was an afterthought — something that you tossed quickly into a bowl and hope people eat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn’t be that way.

Obviously, it’s easy to toss lettuce from a bag in a bowl, sprinkle cheese and dressing and call it a salad. I’ve done it many, many times. When you are busy, bagged salad seems like the perfect option for a quick side or a speedy lunch. But what you gain in speed from a salad like that is lost in taste. The lettuce in bagged salad tends to have a harsher, more bitter flavor than fresh lettuce. Often, you will find a fine, white coating on vegetables in a bagged salad too … not exactly appetizing.

I implore you: if you want to make a good salad, buy real heads of lettuce. I love Boston bibb lettuce, personally, and romaine hearts have a delicious flavor. But try out different lettuces until you find one that appeals to you. There are so many options out there from red leaf to iceberg to mesclun.

Also, invest in a good salad spinner. The salad spinning thing has an inner basket, perfect for tearing lettuce into and rinsing to remove any dirt or whatever. Then you stick the basket inside the contraption and spin, spin, spin until the lettuce is dry. It literally takes no time and you can even enlist help from your little sous chefs, assuming you have one like I do.

Next, add the veggies. Choose vegetables that are in season, fresh and that you like and then cut them into smaller pieces. For instance, you can use a vegetable peeler to shave long, smooth, sweet shards of carrots from full sized carrots (which really are tastier than baby carrots). Chop up some fresh mushrooms into bite sized pieces. Dice some peppers or roasted peppers. Keep pomegranate seeds in the fridge for easy sprinkling. Have sweet grape or cherry tomatoes and toss them on top. Have leftover corn or peas? Toss it in! Pickled beats and other vegetables add a tasty dimension. And for a creamy, dreamy addition, toss on some diced avocado.

You’ll probably want a protein too. If you have leftover roasted chicken or steak, slice it thin and cut it into bite size pieces (after heating, of course). If you are feeling industrious, generously sprinkle a small steak with salt and pepper and broil it to perfection (flipping once, of course). Or you could quickly cook up some delicious shrimp or even a poached egg to top it.

For an extra tasty salad, you will want 1-2 other toppers such as cheese (gorgonzola is a favorite here, but cheddar, parmesan, blue, romano … pretty much most kinds … can work too), homemade croutons, sunflower seeds, candied almonds or tortilla strips. Be careful not to go overboard and add too much though, because these items are where a salad can go from healthy to fattening.

Finally, choose the dressing. I typically avoid premade dressings as they are often filled with unpronounceable ingredients and even high-fructose corn syrup (YUCK!). Instead, choose a really good vinegar (I love balsamic from Villarina’s) and some extra virgin olive oil. Use both sparingly and sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Or substitute lemon or lime juice for the vinegar.

Finally, make sure that everything is in bite sized pieces before mixing it up, serving and devouring. There is nothing worse than trying to bite into a salad with gigantic pieces of lettuce flapping off your fork.

I get really stressed out when I have to plan a menu. Typically it goes something like this: Pull every cookbook out of my bookcases and scour them for just the right dishes. Find nothing that meets my expectations and reluctantly put them back — after double checking the ones that I think should be able to help but aren’t. Then I grumble about it and decide on the type of main course I want to serve and work from there.

Then I start the process all over again for dessert. It’s tiring.

As much as I love to cook, and cook well, I am in a never-ending quest to have every meal I serve — but particularly those to guests — be absolutely perfect. Perfect pairing. Perfect presentation. Perfect everything. And that, my friends, really stresses me out. But I’m working on relaxing a bit. No one needs that much pressure.

When I was planning the menu for a special lunch with a very good friend the other day, I decided to go simple. Yes, I went simple. I know — sometimes I go nuts with cooking huge meals, but I wanted this to be a comfortable, relaxed visit so I made two dishes that I could prepare most or all of ahead of time – a panini and a salad.

I mentally built the salad piece by piece. First, I decided to start with a bed of baby spinach. And what pairs really well with baby spinach? Strawberries! And I happened to have a few, so I sliced those up. Of course, the salad had to have cheese — everything needs cheese. Seriously, people.

But it needed something more to elevate this from just another spinach and strawberry salad to a WOW! (Did I mention that this was the first time ever that this friend ate something I cooked? It was. And we’ve been friends for, um, seven years. So, it had to be an all-around WOW! meal.) After scanning the cabinets, I found my supply of dry roasted almonds and decided to do a candied almond to toss in the salad too.

These almonds were awesome. Nice and crispy and sweet. Mmm. Shawn’s first response was “Wow, those almonds really make the salad!” I tend to agree. If you’ve never made candy before, don’t worry. These are super easy.

Candied Almonds
yields 2 cups

1/2 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 vanilla bean
2 cups whole dry roasted almonds

Stir together the water, sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Scrap in the center of one vanilla bean. Stir in the almonds. Turn on the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens (all of the liquid should evaporate, leaving a syrupy mixture that moves together when you tilt the pan).

Spread a sheet of wax paper on a baking sheet. Make sure that the wax side is up. Pour the almond mixture onto the sheet and separate the almonds. Let cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Nearly every weekend this summer has included a trip to my cousin’s farm. Will and I have carefully selected the farm-fresh and mostly organic produce and coveted it all week long. There were overflowing pints of blueberries that Will would finish before the day was out and tiny, sweet orange cherry tomatoes that would burst as we bit them. And then there was sweet corn, so crisp and sugary that we’d consume ear after ear.

But, as my cousin’s husband said this weekend, the season is quickly coming to an end. When we drove over to the farm on Sunday, we found giant, ripe, just-picked heirloom tomatoes and brilliant other tomatoes. Plus, several varieties of onions, gigantic cucumbers and other goodies.

With winter fast-approaching, we bought about 10 pounds of seconds tomatoes — ones that didn’t quite pass muster but are perfect for fresh marinara. We also bought several of the perfect red tomatoes and an heirloom. I immediately started dreaming of what to do with the lovely globes of goodness. The seconds were destined for marinara (more on that later this week . . . it was a lengthy process). The regular, ripe, perfect tomatoes I have tucked away for gazpacho (along with the cucumber and a red onion), which I will tell you about another day. But the heirloom, oh the heirloom. The gnarly, imperfect, gigantic heirloom was my wild card. Would I slice it and eat it bit by bit? Or perhaps transform it into something else.

But while flipping through a Barefoot Contessa cookbook, I found my answer. An heirloom tomato salad with blue cheese dressing. Ina Garten’s recipe didn’t quite meet my tastes (too much mayo . . . heck, mayo in general! ew!), so I worked out my own vinaigrette version.

Coincidentally, did you know that September is an Eat Local Challenge month? I am taking on the challenge this time. After a summer of doing my best to eat locally (and prepare for winter to do the same), I am ready to nudge my eating local forward with a solid footing for winter. So my challenge this September is to buy, prepare and store local produce for the long New England winter that will be here before we know it. I’ll be sharing my progress as I go as well.

Now. Onto the recipe.

Heirloom Tomato with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
serves 4

1 extra large heirloom tomato (about 2 lbs)
1/2 red onion, finely diced
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tarragon wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Slice the heirloom tomatoes into extra thin pieces. Arrange on a plate. Top with finely diced red onion.

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and blue cheese. Spoon over the tomatoes.

Serve immediately.

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This is my contribution for Sweetnicks’ ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays. Check out the Sweetnicks site for great fruit, veggie and antioxidant-rich ideas.

This pregnancy is the polar opposite. I still like lobster, for one thing. But more importantly, this baby craves fresh vegetables – except for broccoli, something we used to eat a lot of. Figures, it just so happens to be Will’s favorite vegetable. On the other hand, I am suddenly psyched to eat green olives – something I wasn’t fond of prior to pregnancy.

In any case, knowing that my best friend absolutely loves my broccoli slaw (and has told me as much) I had to make it for her Mother Blessing Ceremony yesterday. What is a Mother Blessing Ceremony? It’s a gathering of a woman’s nearest and dearest, also called a Blessingway, to celebrate her womanhood and passage into a new stage of life. Although this is Angel’s second child, a few friends and I thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate for her. But more on that later.

Of course, I forgot to photograph the final product. Isn’t that always the way? Nonetheless, it was a huge hit. Worth making, even if the idea of it doesn’t agree with me right now.