— Melissa Bryant

Well, um, if I'm gonna include, you know, something like cheese, then, you know, a, a cap or capris inspired salad, you know, is very nice. And it's, uh, I think made even, um, maybe more meaningful or even more delicious sometimes if you have a, a garden that you can draw from. And when I say garden, I don't mean anything fancy, right? It could be pots on the balcony, uh, it could be a single, you know, uh, a moderate raised bed, or, you know, something much more, uh, involved. And, uh, fresh tomatoes, you, those come from, uh, the farmer's market as well. Um, if that's your best option. And, uh, some fresh mozzarella, wherever you wanna source that. And basil, uh, you know, just some fresh basil. Sometimes I'll mix it up by using Thai basil, and that adds a little different, uh, twist or edge to the salad. And then, you know, you can dress it up however you want. Like I mentioned, condiments, right? Often make the dish and you can, you know, use a, uh, a, a balsamic vinegar of your choice. Maybe it's a balsamic glaze, whether you buy it or make it right, it's up to you. And, you know, you might even choose something else, um, you know, as a condiment, um, to, to dress up a salad like that. Okay. Um, in terms of other summer, things to make, oh, let's see, you know, um, something like a salad, whatever that might look like, um, could be at the table along with any other hot dish right in, in the summertime. And, um, let's see. I mean, frankly, you know, I'll make dba, uh, from, from time to time here at, at home. And this is reaching into the, uh, the Indian, uh, recipe book. And, you know, DBA is a, a staple food in India, in other parts of South Asia, where folks might eat it every day or nearly every day. Um, you know, I enjoy it whenever I eat it, although it's not every day. But, uh, that's one of those things that I enjoy when it comes to the, the grain accompanying that it, it's not always white rice, right? We think about though Indian food equals baati rice. Um, uh, it can be something else. Um, you know, I've got in the inventory here, some whole, whole grains of oats, and we've got, uh, some spelt and some wheat. We've got some brown rice, and then there's quinoa and millet that come to mind. And sometimes it's gonna be one of those grains. And a lot of times I'll blend grains, uh, for example, you know, especially if I'm gonna make white rice, I will add something else to it. And I like to add, usually quinoa, um, you know, or millet, millet gets to be very, very wet and dense. So if you want, uh, to maintain that more typical texture of the, the white rice that you're preparing, then quinoa, uh, is a nice addition. Um, just adjust the water based upon the quantity of quinoa that you add. Um, I might add, uh, the equivalent of, of, uh, 20% or 25%, uh, of the white rice, you know, in, uh, the additional quinoa. And that adds a nice hit of, uh, some, some nutrients and, and visual interest and a different aroma and a different flavor, um, texture on the palette. And so it's a really fun way to, uh, just add some variety right to the table. So, again, it could be something as simple as that, that's accompanied with, uh, a nice, uh, salad, right? As I mentioned, and experiment with the dressings, you know, whether it's, uh, an oil free dressing, examples of which we have in our courses. Uh, we have a, a, you know, a subset of possibilities. Once you get those, um, you know, understood and, and practiced, then you can start to alter them and make your own variations.