If you are in the Columbus area and haven’t checked out Piada Italian Street Food yet, you are missing out. It’s a totally delicious selection of pasta, piadas (wraps), and salads. Think of it like an Italian Chipotle serving scrumptious, affordable and healthy meals in a modern and fresh dining space.

Anyway, I”ve become completely OBSESSED over their salads (and trust me, “obsessed” and “salad” are not often used together in my vocabulary). Over the weekend, I was craving a salad and decided to recreate my Piada salad at home. Here’s how you can try it, too. The amount below made enough for a few salads for me… but I like big salads. :)

Ingredients

• 4 c spinach and/or mixed greens
• 1/2 c peppadew peppers
•  1 zucchini
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 c mushrooms
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c olive oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper

How To Make

• Wash your greens and arrange them on a big plate. Set aside.
• Slice the zucchini, peppadew ppers, red peppers, green peppers  and mushrooms. Chop the onion.
• Sauté the vegetables over medium high heat with a little olive oil (I used about a 1/4 cup). Towards the end of the cooking, add your peppadew peppers to the vegetables and let them sauté for just a minute or two.
• You can also grill a chicken breast to add to your salad if you want too.
• Add your vegetables and chicken to your bed of spinach and mixed greens.
• Mix together 2 tbs and 1/4 cup of olive oil with the salt and pepper to create a basic balsamic vinaigrette. You can feel free to add more or less vinegar to give it a little more tang… I usually follow about a 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. Drizzle over your salad.

Enjoy!

What is it about strawberries that make me so happy? It must be their ripeness, color and promise of summer.

I got these little beauties from Rife’s Market in Grandview this afternoon. It was the highlight of my 65-degree, serene and paradisiacal weekend.

So what if it’s Monday?

I think Monday gets a bad rep.

I’m rested from the weekend, I’ve got a fresh start and I’m ready to take on the world.

I think Monday might be the very best day of all.

Rug on the left (West Elm) is $249. Rug on the right (Urban Outfitters)? Just $74.

Sorry, West Elm, looks like I’m going to have to cheat on you with your cheaper and equally trendy friend.

Absolutely in love with this poster done by 21-year-old design student Francesca Ramos. And the best part? You can download an 11×17 PDF to print and hang!

Getting in the holiday spirit!