Summer is going by so fast. I usually does, but I think this is the fastest one yet. The produce is plentiful but also doesn’t last forever. So enjoy it while you can. This summer salad, which is more of a suggestion than an actual recipe, uses whatever fresh produce you have on hand or can easily find locally.
We spent some time at the artsy beach town, Saugatuck, on the west coast of Michigan. It’s a beautiful place with friendly people and is known as “The Art Coast of Michigan.” The area’s also famous for its fruit and produce and blueberries are in season right now. We spent our last morning there picking buckets of perfect, sweet, luscious blueberries. They even survived the trip back.
For dinner today, I used what I had and made a summer salad with the fresh picked blueberries, cucumbers and tomatoes from my garden, lettuce and apricots from a local farm market, along with some oranges and olives.
I love salad with citrus dressing, which for me is just a few tablespoons of any citrus juice, a teaspoon of vinegar, some red pepper flakes and/or a pinch of chipotle, salt and pepper, and a sweetener. I use a little stevia, but maple syrup goes well, too.
But you could also try the Best Salad Dressing Ever (Really!), which goes well on anything.
It’s a super easy and really healthy way to use what’s available and in season.

Hello! I’m Lisa, a vegan artist, photographer, author, Vegan Life Coach Educator, and RYT 200 yoga teacher. I love showing others how simple and delicious a plant-based diet can be. I draw and paint, cook, write, take lots of pics, eat lots of chocolate, and practice gratitude daily.
I literally read this post and made the Best dressing ever recipe like an hour later!
It is AMAZING !! I didn’t have capers so i used more olives and some of their brine instead which seemed to work fine. So delicious.
I used it on my salad of greens, a ton of cilantro, scallions, cucumber, edamame, and tomatoes.
I’m very jealous of all your blueberries! I desperately love them.
It really is! Your salad sounds delicious 🙂