A Salad that says "I'm 90% sure summer is here."

Before I launch into summer salad discussion, a VERY IMPORTANT MATTER must be addressed. You guys, it's time for

CARROT CAKE UPDATE

Carrot Cake Update: NAILED IT. 

She loves it. She freaking loves a piece of carrot cake. I've only been waiting, oh, 15 years for this moment. It's glorious. Utterly glorious.

She would like me to explain to you all that it's not that she's been converted. Not so fast. She likes MY carrot cake. Not OTHER WET AND SWEET CARROT CAKE WITH RAISINS. But MINE. So there you have it. Nailed. It. Beetle Victory Dance. La la la la la.

And she had ANOTHER piece of it last night for dessert. I asked her from the top of the staircase what she was going to have and she said "carrot cake" and I, graciously, natch, said OMG ARE YOU HAVING MORE CARROT CAKE DO YOU LIKE CARROT CAKE I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?

And she did this:

So, dear reader. Pumpkin Seeds down. Carrot Cake down.

She also hates Zucchini Bread and/or cakes.

Guess what I made this afternoon.

IT'S ON. 

OK ON TO SALAD.

Yesterday was significant in that I spent almost the entire thing on the porch. It was also significant for the fact that for a few hours I wore just a tee shirt and not a cardigan inside the house.

(It was also significant for the fact that somehow I managed to get "colour" to the point of a pinkish nose whilst on said porch. Ostensibly in the shade. Just call me Beetle Cullen.)

These things combined have led me to the conclusion (albeit in an I'm-in-New-England-so-all-weather-bets-are-off kind of way) that summer (spring? did we have spring?) has arrived. I'm pretty sure of this. It could still snow tomorrow. It's happened before. But in true Yankee fashion I will say that "the weather has certainly been quite warm lately."

There.

Further supporting this theory is the fact that we had a 10 minute thunderstorm this morning. It was completely unexpected and totally awesome. Thunderstorms = signs of summer. Also Thunderstorms = things I love.

I know it's not Memorial Day yet (hell my white dresses are still FIRMLY in the back of the closet and WILL NOT EMERGE UNTIL MONDAY) but, again, "the weather has certainly been quite warm lately."

When I opened the fridge to make dinner last night, I realised that Broccoli was going to be the vegetable of choice. (There's actually a scary amount of broccoli in our fridge for some reason, I don't remember how it got there, I think Mum is secretly buying it in bulk when I'm not looking. That and endive. And lemons. What can I say. She's a strange duck.) However, what to make with Broccoli that would be, ahem, "summery"? I wanted something bright and green that could be served a room temperature, maybe even on a porch. (!!) Something light and clean and fresh.

Something that was the culinary equivalent of "the weather has certainly been quite warm lately."

Then I remembered the Edamame.

ALMOST-SUMMER SALAD OF BROCCOLI AND EDAMAME

Edamame is awesome for the following reasons:

1. Protein protein protein! 
2. It's GREEN
3. It's delicious
4. It can be eaten in an inexplicable-yet-true posh way sucked out of its own pod (seriously think about that for a minute nobody looks attractive doing that and yet it's become a staple restaurant appetizer and then you're left with this gross dish of sucked out pods I mean I do it all the time I always order it but I'm just saying if you stop and think about it for a minute it's totally bizarre that it's reached such gastronomic mainstream heights)
5. IT'S GREEN
6. It can be served hot or cold
7. Seasoning wise, it can go Asian or European. It takes equally well to ginger and tamari as it does to sage and rosemary.
8. IT'S GREEN
9. Mum loves it. Freaking loves it. 
1. Ok she loves it shelled. I first introduced her to Edamame at Ippudo in New York, and she was hella suspicious until she tried it and then proceeded to eat the whole bowl. But she feels the same way I do as expressed in point 5. 
2. Also, I gotta say, adding it to dishes is of course completely impossible if it's not shelled. 
3. Also, since she's not crazy about tofu in its standard form, this is a good way to get her to eat protein. 

So. Presenting the simplest, quickest, "maybe it's getting warmer" salad in the history of the world. 

There are three ingredients here:

• 1 head of Broccoli, floret-ed
• 1 bag of frozen (ahem, shelled) Edamame
• 1 small onion, diced

Ahem, the "directions" if you can call it that are as follows:

Either de-thaw the Edamame or if you are being a gangster cook like me throw it in the microwave to speed up the process. 

Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the onion and the broccoli, cook for about 10 minutes until the broccoli is tender and starting to get squishy but still bright green (keep it on the firm side for this one)

Combine. 

That's seriously it you guys. I'm actually kind of embarrassed to be posting this because I feel like I didn't do anything. But it was so pretty. And so fast. And after a weekend spent surrounded by biscuits, whipped cream, and confectioner's sugar, I seriously needed a savoury green fix. I thought about adding herbs, or black olives, but in the end kept it as simple as possible. 

I had made Spelt Bread earlier that morning, so all that was left was to slice that sucker up nice and thick, dish everything out, and tuck in.

Or as Mum said: