If you blog it, they will eat! Peach Arugula Salad

This is the salad that inspired me to create this blog!  

(Well, and you girls who comment on my instagram pictures and make me feel like I am a good cook!)

So onto the salad.  THE salad as it will now be known.  I'm in love.  And if I had one, would probably trade my first born for it.  Good thing I have no children.  It's so easy.  Seriously.  And it's delicious.    If I can make it, so can you.  Toddlers, crying babies, and make shift tools...totally doable.

Peaches are currently filling up the produce dept at the Nugget (our awesome grocery store) and smell so good as you walk by.  Since it is already super hot in El Dorado Hills, I wanted to make a nice cool salad with some of the gorgeous peaches.  Our current favorite salads always include arugula.  So off to Pinterest to search "Peach and Arugula."  And voila, I find this.  Serves 4

Ingredients

• 5 peaches (NOT white cause they fall apart too easily)
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 Tbsp honey or Agave nectar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lime zest (I skipped cause I don't have a zester)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (I used way less- juiced one half a lime)
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin (Used half the 2nd time we made it.  Hubby found it overwhelming, I had liked it.)
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp tequila (Skipped cause it was more trouble than it was worth.  Save your tequila for Margaritas later...)
• 1/3 cup olive oil (or the amount you want to create a consistency to your liking.  I used less.)
• Cooking spray or oil for your grill
• Baby arugula, thoroughly washed (I buy organic, ready to eat, washed 3x's, plastic box.)
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella
• Optional- Prosciutto for you meat lovers

Directions

1. Chop one peach.  Cut around the pit into small cubes for the food processor later.
2. Combine the cut peach, onions, cilantro, honey/agave, salt, lime juice & zest, cumin, chili powder, & tequila in a food processor for 10-15 seconds.  Add in olive oil gradually and blend to create the consistency you want.  (I did not use a full 1/3 cup.  Probably less than 1/4 cup.)  If you make this ahead of time, just throw it in the fridge.  The flavors will set up overnight and be great by the next day.
3. Slice the remaining 4 peaches into nice even slices for the grill.  Cut inward from the sides until you reach the pit.  Cut one side, then the opposite, then the two "ends" that this creates.  You'll have pretty round slices as well as strips from the short sides.
4. Brush both sides of the peach slices with a little of your dressing.  Set aside.
5. Slice the fresh mozzarella rather thinly.  The "real" recipe says 1/4 of an inche but I don't even know what that looks like without a ruler.  Just slice them as thick as you want.
6. Coat your grate or grill with cooking spray or oil (I used olive oil) and place on stove or grill.  Heat on medium to high heat.
7. Grill the sliced peaches about 3 minutes per side, allowing grill marks but not burning.  *Note- peaches have lots of sugar and it might get a little sticky and messy on your grill.  Don't fret, just flip the best you can.
8. Arrange the arugula on your plate or bowl, drizzle with some dressing, and add slices of peaches and mozzarella.  Top with more dressing and dig in.  
1. If you need to be fancy, then stack slices of peaches and mozzarella alternatively.  But since you won't EAT it like that, just put them on top of the greens!
9. For you meat eaters- cut up some prosciutto slices and sprinkle on your finished salad.

1.   

This should take less than 30 minutes total.  And if you wanted to prep the dressing the night before (while the kiddos are in bed) you could whip this dinner up in 15 minutes.  Simply cut the peaches, grill them, and plate.  Enjoy with a glass of wine, maybe some rustic bread, and it's a prefect dinner for a hot day.

Voila!  You have food :)