Summer Avocado Salad

It has been a wild July for Shea and me. We spent our 4th of July holiday road tripping through the Northeastern states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, etc.), and since then have had a slew of visitors come spend time with us here in DC (Steve, Chris, Kyle, Dunya, and Dorothy). It has been TONS of fun, but as you probably could guess, we haven't been eating in the most healthy way possible.

Now that things have slowed down for us a little bit, we are back to cooking. And what better way to get back in the saddle than with a healthy and delicious salad. I don't even typically like grapefruit, but this salad is fresh, bright, and creamy. It is a definite keeper!

Summer Avocado Salad

Courtesy of "The Food Lover's Guide to Noodles and Rice"

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 grapefruit
1 small lettuce
1/4 cucumber
1/2 cup vinaigrette dressing
1/2 cup cooked shrimp
1/4 cup long grain rice
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded
salt and pepper

Directions:
Peel the avocados. Cut them in half and remove the stones. Cut the flesh in slices and pour on the lemon juice to prevent discoloration.Using a small sharp knife, cut a slice from grapefruit exposing the flesh. Cut round in strips removing all the white pith.

When the grapefruit are peeled and showing no pith, cut into each section between the membranes of each slice. At the end you will have segments of grapefruit without skin. Squeeze the juice of the membranes by hand over the fruit. Line individual dishes with washed, drained lettuce leaves and cucumber slices.

Pour some of the vinaigrette dressing over the grapefruit. Mix the cooked shrimps with the rice and dressing.
Cut the yellow bell pepper in thin strips, Retaining some for garnishing, chop the remainder and mix with the rice and shrimps. Season well.

Arrange shrimp and rice mixture in the dishes on the cucumber and lettuce. Top with sliced avocado and grapefruit. Garnish with bell pepper rings.