Hot summer days beg for ease and refreshment. This salad delivers cool satisfaction by pairing crisp greens with juicy, sweet, seasonal blueberries. The dressing is a treat, made with freshly squeezed tart lemon juice, savory thyme from the garden and local honey. Combined, it’s as delicious as it is nourishing, and requires minimal eff ort so that you can spend your day adventuring, or simply relaxing, but always soaking up the good things.

Salad Ingredients (serves 4)

• 8 cups fresh spinach (baby or roughly chopped mature leaves)

• 2 cups fresh blueberries

• 1 cup sliced almonds

• 1 cup crumbled feta or vegan feta

• 4 tablespoons pepitas or sprouted pumpkin seeds

Dressing Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Juice of 1½ fresh lemons (roughly 5 tablespoons)

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon local honey

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (roughly 6 sprigs de-stemmed)

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Combine all dressing ingredients in a glass jar, cap tightly, and shake until well combined.

Divide salad ingredients into 4 bowls by adding to each bowl: 2 cups spinach, ½ cup blueberries, ¼ cup sliced almonds, ¼ cup crumbled feta and 1 tablespoon pepitas.

Serve with dressing to taste.

Originally published in Edible Western NY.