Heirloom Tomato Fennel Salad with Fennel Tahini Dressing

Usually when salads get dressed at casa M in the World, they're dressed in vinaigrettes, light and airy, sometimes spicy, sometimes honeyed. But here we are at the very tail end of summer, and although some delicious heirloom tomatoes are still peeking out of the corner of stalls at local farmer's markets, the air is crisp, the wind has a bite to it, and it just seems like everything, including salads, needs to be a little sturdier, a little more substantial.

Jerk Shrimp with a Zingy Salad

Summer is winding down, but it's still warm enough that sometimes dinner just needs to be a light salad. Then again, there's a cool breeze a-blowin' so you need something to punch it up a bit. This is a salad with a whole host of strong flavors jostling together. Somehow, they end up not in battle with each other, but complementing each other. As if the knights decided to let themselves each win the rose in turn.

Sugar Kiss Melon Salad

Inspired by TheKitchn's post on adding melons to salad (and having, conveniently, a yummy half of a sugar kiss melon on hand) I thought I'd try out a melon salad myself. I was going to just pick up some spicy arugula to go with it, but at the grocery store I saw some bouncy mint and basil, and thought I'd like a little extra zing to the simple salad.