Arugula, Pear, Date & Manchego salad

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I hope you all have wonderful plans with family and friends. I was debating my post, and was going to do a great pasta salad since I figured a lot of you will be going to cookouts, but I made this salad the other night and decided to share it instead.  First, I would like to say I know a lot of people don't care for dates.. I actually won't eat them alone, I only eat them in this salad and my cereal, but don't be scared to try them! They really give it a chewy and sweet taste and texture to the salad. You can certainly omit them if you like or substitute them for dried cranberries or golden raisins. You can also substitute the arugula for mixed greens if you like. However, their should be no substitution for the Manchego cheese! It gives it that wonderful salty bite and puts this salad over the top.

Grilled Peach Salad with Champagne Vinagrette

The summer is winding down and I have yet to make anything with peaches! I have the fondest childhood memories of my mom's amazing peach pie. Peaches were her favorite fruit and in August we would go to the orchard and get the biggest peaches we could find. They were so delicious, juicy and sweet.

This recipe is far from a peach pie, but it is really delicious. I use butter  lettuce, but you can substitute with your favorite lettuce blend . I love the  tenderness of the baby butter lettuce in combination with the soft juicy peach and the saltiness of the feta and the crunch of the pecans.