Fresh Summer Salads

I love going to the farmer's market and am really excited for our new house to be steps from this weekly affair!! I love seeing what looks good and then coming home and making some delicious food. This is what I picked up today.

Kale, Basil, Carrots and Beets

I decided to make a beet salad using the beets and the beet greens. Beets are a great source of fiber, lower LDL cholesterol, is a known cancer fighting food and is rich in B-vitmains, specifically folic acid (great for those pregnant women!).
I cleaned the beets and roasted them in a covered pan for about an hour.
I then cleaned and trimmed the stalks off the beet greens and steamed them for about 2 minutes.
I needed a dressing so I cut up an orange, added a couple cloves of fresh garlic, a little red wine vinegar, olive oil and orange zest.
Orange zest is a great source of vitamin C, enhances your immune system and is a great digestive aid.
I mixed it all together and topped with some fresh basil. A great success!

For the second salad I used the kale.
I steamed the kale for about 5 minutes and while this was doing it's thing I quickly sauteed about 4 cloves of garlic in olive oil. I then drained the kale, squeezed out the excess water and sauteed it with the garlic. Voila! Kale is rich in vitamin K, A and C and because it is part of the Brassica family it is a powerful fighter of cancer cells, including breast cancer.
I met a women at the market when buying the carrots who said she made pesto from the tops. I usually feed them to my dog, but thought I might give that a try next.