After a long winter in the Midwest, nothing tastes quite as good in the summer as a big, fresh salad made with the best produce. You know I love a big platter of fresh strawberries and avocado with fried goat cheese.

And when you have great vegetables from your garden or a farmer’s market, a “salad” really needs to be very little else beyond slicing, piling things onto a platter and drizzling with citrus salad dressing.

Many of us normally think of beets as more of a winter vegetable. But since they’re my favorite vegetable, I’ve found that they can transition right into warmer weather too, especially when they are paired with tomatoes.

This summer beet salad recipe makes a star out of fresh produce and herbs, with just a little bit of barley for added texture and fiber.

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While you generally won’t find me going out to a fancy restaurant for a pre fixe dinner on Valentine’s Day, I still like to mark the occasion in some way at home.

Sometimes I’ll make a special Valentine’s Day dinner of lasagna cottage cheese or my crab-stuffed salmon recipe but other years, it’s just easy Valentine’s dessert shooters after a takeout pizza.

And sometimes I’ll just feel like snacking with fun charcuterie board ideas and following it up with some chocolate creme brulee.

You all know I love an epic snack board, as I’ve already shared everything from my wine and cheese board to a spooky Halloween charcuterie board to a fall-themed Thanksgiving charcuterie board.

Whether you’re hosting a Galentine’s party for the girls, or having a cozy night in with your sweetie, why not put together a Valentine’s Day snack platter of your own this year? I’ll explain it all, including the best way to make heart shaped food, below.

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If I’m being honest, I should have just named this salad “Lori’s Favorite Foods Salad.” Because that’s exactly what it is, including the beets.

Side note: Last week, I asked my followers on Facebook about their least favorite foods, and somebody said beets! I was basically like “um, beets are my favorite food!”

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I really hit my stride with epic farmer’s market salads in late July and August. It seems like ALLLLL the good things are in season, and everything is juicy and colorful to the max.

A “salad” becomes very little else beyond slicing, piling things onto a platter and drizzling with some olive oil and maybe a little lemon juice, or my citrus vinaigrette or creamy feta dressing if I feel ambitious.

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Fun fact: both houses I’ve owned have come with random culinary delights already growing in the yard. My first house had out-of-control mulberry trees, and a single very oddly placed garlic plant. My current house came with a pretty sizeable chive plant right by the deck, which I’m finding very useful. I mean, chives can add a smidge of onion flavor and a fun green color to just about any savory dish, like these Feta Terrines with Spring Vegetables.

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Let’s be honest for a moment. The color of these smoothies is equal parts awesome and kind of freaky, right?

Freaky because it’s so bright and candy-colored that it’s a hue I would normally associate with artificial coloring. Awesome, because it’s 100% natural!

Beets are not only one of my favorite foods, but they are one of nature’s best natural food colorings.

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When summer starts to roll around each year, there’s two things at the top of my agenda. First, some sort of home improvement project. Mind you, our house doesn’t really *need* any improvement, but I always get the urge to do a little something something to beautify our space. Usually, this involves re-painting a room for no other reason than I am bored with the previous color.

Last summer, the project was a massive re-landscaping project after our entire front yard was destroyed by a sewer replacement. Assuming most of the things we planted sprout again this year, that’s out of the way now. And Jeff used a warm weekend back in March to re-paint our bedroom while I was traveling for a photography workshop. Since it looks like the home improvement project is already in the “done and done” column for the year, I’m turning to the second item on my summer agenda: a bicycle picnic.

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Before winter is gone again for the year (fine by me), I thought I would do one last ode to root vegetables. Specifically, beets. I love beets. LOVE LOVE. But I didn’t grow up eating beets. Did any kid grow up eating beets?

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