Today Jason and I found out that we got the summer jobs we wanted in Atlanta! HOORAY!!! We’ll both be working to assist state prosecutors! Even though neither of us particularly plans on going into criminal law, we know this summer job is going to give us some great experience and exposure. Plus it will give us the chance to spend the summer in Atlanta, which is just awesome. We’ll be staying in my parent’s house which will also be fun! You’ll get to meet the rest of my family and hopefully see some great posts featuring my mom (she’s a pastry chef)!

I’ve been meaning to make a broccoli salad for quite sometime. It’s such a tasty side dish, and a very common one in the South. When I have it at restaurants or potlucks it’s usually mayonnaise based and has raisins, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Tasty, but kinda heavy for a “salad” (salad can be a very loosely used term where I come from! Haha!). I lightened it up a bit for a salad that’s just really simple, fresh, and delicious! One of the great things about broccoli salad is that you can use the entire broccoli stem for it, so nothing goes to waste!

Fresh Broccoli Salad

• 2 cups chopped raw broccoli (stems and florets)
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/4 c. toasted almonds
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 t. toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. sugar

-Chop/slice the toasted almonds and mix well in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 5 minutes to let the flavors soak in. That’s it! Makes 4 side dish servings or 2 main dish servings.

Love this!!! The little bit of sesame oil gives it that extra oomph. Plus it has beautiful colors!

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren