Nectarines in a New Light

I only eat nectarines in the summer and don't think about them much for the rest of the year. When they are good, they can be so yummy, sweet and messy. I typically just have them as a snack and don't think to consume them as part of anything else. However, I recently remembered that I've had them in a salad before. I bought a bunch of them last week, so thought I'd try it. I put them in a salad with a balsamic vinaigrette the other night, and thought that was tasty. Then, last night I made "taco salad" again (see prior entry), and thought I'd try them in that. I was a little hesitant, not knowing how it would mix with the fruity salsa. I ended up liking it a lot and thought it was a great addition.

While I eat lots of veggies, I don't necessarily eat as much fruit as I should. Most days I eat a banana, and I go through periods where I will eat apples regularly (usually in the fall when they are in season). But, this experience with nectarines has inspired me to experiment more with fruit in my salads. I sometimes add cranberries, or chopped up apple in specific salads I make, but I think there's a lot more opportunity for fruits to make an appearance as part of dinner. There's a salad I had in SoHo once that had pieces of tangerine in it. I made it a bunch in the past and will dig that recipe up. Also, a co-worker recently told me about a combination that sounds great - blueberries and goat cheese over greens. Strawberries and raspberries have lots of potential. And what about plums? Pineapple? Mango? Would they work well in a salad? I'm guessing bananas wouldn't be the best, but who knows? I just may try it to satisfy my curiosity...

So, I look forward to messing around with different salad combinations over the next few weeks and will post my favorites. Let me know if you have any!