Salad Days

Summer solstice. The longest day of the year. The first day of summer! Technically speaking, the summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or 23.5 degrees north latitude. At  exactly 11:54 am Eastern on Friday the 21st.

I chose this date and time for hosting the Epitourist lunch, with the theme of Salad Days. In the culinary sense, not the literary: fresh, colourful, appealing, healthy, with a touch of ease and an element of surprise.

Home made sour dough foccacia fresh from the oven! Fresh burrata with grilled grapes! Fresh chevre with basil! Grilled cheese!

Caroline and Kaarina co-creators on the feast.

Our meal was stretched over 6 hours, with courses that were light and fresh and full of greens and herbs. The most important ingredient overall: deliciousness.

Summer solstice. Light is at its peak with the longest day. Time for gratitude. From here to Dec 21, the days get shorter and shorter. Reason enough to get the most out of every summer's day.

For my course I prepared a grilled radicchio salad with sherry mustard dressing from Bon Appetit that had captured my interest. I tested it out with my family first, and although they initially scoffed at the idea of grilled lettuce, they enjoyed the mix of flavours.  Kaarina and Caroline appreciated how heat had ramped up the flavours and brought a nutty taste to the plate. Served alongside grilled scallops with a miso glaze. The course was paired with Garden Booch, (1.8 oz of Seedlip garden topped with ginger kombucha, on the rocks, garnished with fresh lemon verbena).

Dessert was simple and refreshing, with a choice of Coupe colonel (zesty lemon sorbetto with a splash of Ciroc) or affogato (bourbon vanilla bean gelato drowned in espresso). We decided to try both.