By Week 319. Spring 2022. I am 39 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like fresh herbs and possibility and this is my life. This is the life I built.
The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.
Mason is 11 and reading everything he can find and examining the world under a microscope with the intensity of a tenured researcher.
Lily is 9 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.
I made garden salad with vinaigrette this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.
This is the salad I made in week 319 — not because it was special-occasion food, but because it was exactly right for an ordinary Tuesday with spring light coming through the kitchen window and the kids doing their own remarkable things somewhere down the hall. Erin’s Peach & Avocado Green Salad is the kind of recipe that asks almost nothing of you and gives you something beautiful in return: ripe fruit, cool greens, a bright vinaigrette that ties it all together. That’s what I needed — something that honored the quiet goodness of this week without making a fuss about it.
Erin’s Peach & Avocado Green Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 5 oz mixed baby greens or romaine, roughly torn
- 2 ripe peaches, pitted and thinly sliced
- 1 large ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
- 1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn
- For the vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette. In a small jar or bowl, combine the olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk or shake until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Set aside.
- Prep the produce. Slice the peaches and avocado just before assembling so they stay fresh and bright. Thinly slice the red onion and soak in cold water for 5 minutes if you prefer a milder flavor, then pat dry.
- Build the salad. Spread the greens across a large serving platter or in a wide salad bowl. Arrange the peach slices and avocado slices over the greens. Scatter the red onion, feta, and toasted almonds on top.
- Dress and finish. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving. Scatter the torn fresh basil over the top. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 220mg