Grocery store lettuce tastes rotten after months of fresh from the garden greens. Yet, with the latest round of heat, home-grown lettuce has not been seen around here in a long time. Luckily, with autumn falling quickly toward winter, some nice wild plants are back on hand lending the potential for flavorful salads.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes (find vine ripe ones or skip it)
• 1/2 cup avocado puree (Froze this during avocado season)
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• Two bunches of watercress (enough to fill two soup bowls)
• 1/2 apple
• 1 onion
• 2 tblsp lemon juice (fresh is best but use the bottled stuff if you have no other option)
• 2 square inches of feta

Directions
1) Add 2 cups cold water to dry quinoa in a saucepan and simmer covered until it is done (about 25 mins)

...while that is cooking...

2) Dice onion and place in bowl with lemon juice
3) Slice cherry tomatoes in half
4) Dice watercress
5) Dice apple
6) Mix onion mix, tomatoes, watercress, avocado puree, apple

....Quinoa should be done - remove from heat to cool a bit

7) Cut feta into 1/8 inch cubes
8) Mix feta, a bit of salt and pepper to taste into the salad

....When quinoa is cool enough to be just slightly warm (takes about 20 mins)
9) Mix in the quinoa
10) Serve at room temperature

Add nasturtium or other edible flowers like tiger lillies to dress up the bowl!