Name: Laura
Location: Santa Barbara, California
How are you staying cool? When the Pacific breeze and fog doesn't blanket the city I like to keep cool with simple salads. No ovens. No stoves. Just fresh ingredients and unexpected flavor combinations.

I just picked up my phone and glanced at the weather for the week and heat is no where in sight. In the dead of August coastal California promises high temperatures below 70°F. Not above. Below. That's nearly impossible for me to wrap my mind around. I will forever be tuned to the dog days of Texas summers. So, as I pulled a sweater over my head this morning I still anticipated a hash sun to peel it off of me later in the afternoon. Though I know it won't happen. If, for some strange twist of nature it were blisteringly hot, as August should be, I would dine on this little salad more.

So, if you don't have a crisp Pacific breeze keeping you (unusually) cool this salad of cannellinis, tangy goat cheese and fresh crisp mint will certainly do the trick. No oven. No stove. No cooking per se, just fresh, simple flavors.

Cannellini Salad with Goat Cheese & Mint
for 2

1 16 oz. can cannellini beans
3 tbsp. goat cheese, crumbled (herbed goat cheese works nicely too)
1/2 tsp. lavender, minced finely
1/2 tsp. rosemary, minced finely
1 tsp. min, minced finely
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Toss all ingredients together. That's it!

• Visit Laura's blog: Cloves & Cream

Thank you Laura!

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(Images: Laura)