Celebrate these last sunny days of summer with a beautiful, healthy salad!

I love using raw beets and carrots together. The color is amazing: magenta and orange layered with vibrant green lettuce and brightened by slices of apple and a sprinkling of feta. You know you're going to get a whole range of important vitamins and nutrients with all of that brilliant color! And we didn't even start talking about flavor yet... Earthy, sweet, tart, crisp and salty. A delicious assortment of tastes and textures.

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KIRBY'S LATE SUMMER SALAD

This will make one big dinner salad, or five side salads. Crisp, mild and sweet, Gingergold is the perfect apple variety for salads. You can find most of these ingredients at Kirby's!

1 local Carrot, coarsely grated

1 Kirbygrown Beet, coarsely grated

3 cups of local Leaf Lettuce, loosely packed

5 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar

1/5 tsp Salt (a good pinch)

1 Kirbygrown Gingergold Apple, diced, with several slices reserved as garnish

1 ounce Feta Cheese, crumbled

1 Tablespoon of Crunchies (sunflower or pumpkin seeds, chopped raw almonds or walnuts) optional

Method: Whisk together vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place lettuce on a large plate or in a bowl. Arrange heaps of grated beet and carrot on lettuce. Drizzle with vinegar solution.

Add apples, sprinkle with feta and seeds or nuts. Enjoy!

Note: My default salad dressing is Cider Vinegar and Salt, and it works perfectly for this salad, in my opinion. Incredibly simple and refreshing, it brightens up a bowl full of veggies without overwhelming their individual flavors. If this isn't your kinda thing, have your favorite bottle of vinaigrette handy as a backup.