Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Once, when I was a kid, my parents went out and left me and my sister with a babysitter.  For some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to eat an entire bag of pistachios all by myself.  Not a clue what the babysitter was thinking, letting me do that.  Not a clue where she was while I was doing that, especially since they were not shelled and required quite a bit of work.

My guess is that she was probably busy trying to keep my sister from killing herself, which was not as easy as it sounds.  She pretty much spent her childhood going from disaster to disaster…broken wrist–twice, palm of the hand burned off when she decided to hold on to a radiator pipe, finger stuck in a knothole in a church pew (lot of praying going on there), fingers stuck together with super glue, licking a puddle….I could go on, but I need to save something for the next time I decide to tell stories about her. It’s pretty much a miracle she survived childhood (not counting the times I wanted to kill her, of course.)

Anyway, back to the pistachios.  I learned an important lesson that day….don’t ever, no matter what, eat an entire bag of pistachios.  They do not sit well.  I think it was at least twenty years before I could even look at a pistachio again.

So no matter how tempted you are to add an entire bag of pistachios to this salad…don’t.  Just don’t.  It does not end well.

Ingredients:  These are approximate since you can certainly adjust the amounts to taste and there is no wrong amount of anything.

• 4 cups arugula (or you can use spinach if arugula is not your thing)
• 2 cups watermelon pieces
• 1 – 2 yellow tomatoes if using large, 5-6 if using small ones like pictured.
• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 1/4 cup diced red onion

* red tomatoes will work as well. Yellow just adds a nice pop of color to the plate.

Directions:

1. Divide the arugula between 4 plates.  Top with the tomatoes, pistachios, watermelon and onion (divide each one evenly over each plate.)

Ingredients for vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small blender.  Drizzle a bit over each salad.

Enjoy!