Sunshine Salad

This has been an unusually hot and sticky summer…

…and for the past few days we’ve been living without our air conditioning…living without ‘that’ manufactured chill, ‘that’ chill, that I now realize, can cause me to get a little bit lazy. Dom and I were talking about the fact that when we were younger, and growing up in households without air conditioning, we would spend hours in the pool, hours riding our bikes, hours engaging in favorite activities that would keep us distracted from the discomfort of the sweltering heat. I don’t know, are we more interesting and useful when we’re forced to live with extreme weather conditions?

One thing I do know is that the heat can do a lot to enhance relationships, for example, when my sisters and I were quite young, we would sleep together on the floor in the hallway in front of the box fan. Our parents would strategically place this fan so that we could all benefit from the gentle swirl and lulling sounds of the moving air. Believe me, lots of giggles ensued! These special images of summer are memories I will cherish forever! Some others include Gram’s red and purple petunias, Mema’s screened-in front porch and stories about her days as “Miss Watertown”, the smell of ripe peaches and bing cherries from Uncle Tony’s fruit stand, Dad’s marigolds, drive-in movies in our PJ’s, Jarts competitions, steaks on the grill, corn-on-the-cob and Mama’s tomato, cucumber, and onion salads!

Oh, hey, antique sunshine weather vane!

 

 

One of my favorite little seasonal reads currently comes from Susan Branch. Her beautifully illustrated, The Summer Book, brings together Susan’s summertime recipes, her gorgeous water-colored illustrations, and personal stories about her life on Martha’s Vineyard from over the years. My sisters and I were together the other night discussing this very book. Our conversation got me thinking about some of my favorite recipes of Susan’s, of which this Sunshine Salad comes.

 

 

Sunshine Salad (adapted from The Summer Book)

Ingredients

2 lbs. carrots, peeled and grated

1 1/2 cups raisins

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup good mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

 

 

I modified Susan’s recipe just a bit…I added 1/2 cup more raisins for extra sweetness and texture, along with an extra tablespoon of lemon juice for some added brightness.

 

 

There is something so beautiful about carrots adorned with their full leafy stems!

 

 

Directions

Peel and grate the carrots, put them in a big bowl and add all of the other ingredients.

Mix well and chill!

 

 

Enjoy!!

 

 

Go ahead…dig in!!

 

 

I cannot resist a smiling sunshine!!!!

 

Have a great weekend!

Ciao!