As much as I love salads, especially on those hazy days of summer when it is just too darn hot to even think about turning the stove on, now that September is here and there is a clear crispness in the air (no I am not trying to rain on your parade) I am wanting a bit more oomph to those clean, fresh salads of summer.

Yes, there is definitely seasonality to salads….wouldn’t you agree?? We adapt (or at least I do, hello local produce!) our inclusions to reflect the changing produce availability and the slowly dropping temperatures. I see it like the changing of our wardrobes. We start to later, pull out the pants and sweaters, change over the coats……it can be, and fingers crossed that it is, a slow process….we all try to hard to hold onto those barefoot and flipflop days.  While I am not ready to give up my sandals just yet, I will concede to start layering.  This salad is delicious! The airiness of kale is layer with the substance and crunch of quinoa, and throw in some red peppers to bring out the colours of September.  I added some barbequed, miso glazed chicken, I love that hint of smokiness to remind me that, nope these beautiful days of summer aren’t over yet!

The miso glaze that I used is a recipe from Bobby Flay and is so tastey as a marinade and glaze for chicken thighs. Done on the BBQ this chicken is perfect and so convenient for lunches so make extra and top salads or make some fabulous chicken sammie with it.

I dressed my salad with a roasted garlic dressing (which is so yummy I must say) that I made, but an asian inspired dressing would hit the spot here too.
Packed with protein, vitamins A, C, K, calcium and potassium this salad is a definite winner for lunch today!

Sue xo