Avocado Fruit Salad with Tangerine Vinaigrette — When the Garden Gives You Summer

June and the tomatoes are starting. The plants Tyler talked to all spring have given us tomatoes. The first one ripened on a Tuesday and he brought it inside with the specific reverence of someone presenting something they had a hand in creating. I sliced it and we ate it standing over the sink with salt. It tasted like a tomato should. It tasted like care.

Ida said three-word phrases this week. Want more please. Go outside now. Read me book. She is putting the language together with the particular industriousness of someone who has a lot to communicate and is rapidly acquiring the tools. I have been reading to her every night. Gloria read to me when I was with her and the books Gloria read to me are the books I read to Ida now, the same ones, found in used bookstores and second-hand sales. She does not know the books have a history. She just knows them as hers. The history is a layer she cannot see yet and will not need to see for a long time.

Sunday dinner was BLT. Bread, bacon, the first good tomatoes. A BLT with a tomato from your own garden is the exact right use of that tomato. Simple and honest. The tomato gets to be exactly what it is with nothing covering it up.

The small Bright Beginnings Daycare in the small downtown Prattville is the small workplace. The small toddler-room teacher role (ages 18-36 months). The small daycare-worker-salary plus the small fiancé-Cole’s small carpenter-paycheck is the small two-income engaged-couple budget. The small wedding-saving has been the small two-year-project.

Tyler Clarke (the small fiancé, 29, diesel-mechanic-from-Millbrook) works at a small trucking-company. The small wedding is planned for October 2026 with Gloria walking Savannah down the aisle. The small marriage will be the small first-stable-adult-relationship Savannah has had. The small foster-care upbringing means the small family-of-origin had been the small unstable-shape.

The small foster-care-history: Savannah went into the small Alabama-foster-care system at age six after the small mother’s incarceration and the small father’s absence. The small seven-foster-placements between infancy and age sixteen. The small last placement (Gloria and James Martin in Prattville, who became the small forever-parents) since age fourteen. The small Martin-foster-parents continued to be the small only-parents until James died in 2024 at 77 from a heart-attack mowing the lawn.

The small self-taught-Southern-cooking is the small kitchen-identity. The small no-grandmother-recipes-passed-down meant the small YouTube-and-cookbook-self-teaching from age sixteen onward. The small fried chicken, the small biscuits, the small mac-and-cheese, the small banana pudding, the small sweet tea are the small staples.

The small Gloria-Martin kitchen-mentorship (Gloria is the small foster-mom-now-mom) has been the small adult-cooking-development since the small fourteen-year-old. The small Gloria-Sunday-dinners-with-Savannah-cooking-now are the small weekly-rhythm since James passed. The small Gloria-recipes (Black-Southern-comfort-food the small chain of Gloria’s mother and grandmother) are the small heritage-by-adoption.

The small Prattville-small-town-community is the small social-context. The small First Baptist Church congregation is the small church-family. The small daycare-coworkers are the small adjacent-friend-network. The small Martin-family (Gloria, James who passed in 2024, plus the small current-foster-child Destiny age 6 in Gloria’s care) is the small chosen-family. The small Tyler’s-family-in-Millbrook (Debbie, Roy, and four-brothers) is the small in-law-family.

The small Sunday-publishing-rhythm of the recipe blog continues to be the small organizing-spine of the small week. The small Sunday-cooking happens in the small late-morning-to-early-afternoon window. The small photographing of the finished dish happens at the small three-PM kitchen-light-window. The small writing-up of the recipe happens at the small four-PM workspace at the kitchen-counter. The small final-edit happens at the small five-PM. The small post publishes at seven PM. The small ritual has been running for years.

The small recipe-development-philosophy continues to be the small small-batch-test-then-publish approach. The small first cook of a small new recipe happens on the small Saturday afternoon. The small adjustments are noted in the small kitchen-notebook. The small second cook happens Sunday with the small adjustments incorporated. The small Sunday-cook is the small version that gets photographed and published. The small two-test process catches the small recipe-flaws before they reach the small reader.

The small kitchen-equipment-inventory has the small key-pieces that show up in nearly every recipe. The small heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for the small braises. The small twelve-inch cast-iron skillet for the small sears and the small pan-roasts. The small half-sheet baking-pans for the small roasted vegetables and the small cookies. The small wooden-spoon-collection in the small ceramic-pitcher on the counter. The small chef’s-knife and the small paring-knife and the small bread-knife that are the small daily-tools.

The small grocery-shopping rhythm runs through the small Tuesday-evening trip and the small Saturday-morning top-off. The small Tuesday-trip is the small weekly-stock-up for the small staples and the small produce and the small protein. The small Saturday-trip is the small quick-fill for whatever the small Sunday-recipe requires that is not already in the small pantry. The small two-trip-per-week pattern keeps the small grocery-bill manageable and the small food-waste low.

The small meal-planning happens on the small Sunday-evening for the small week-ahead. The small dinners are mapped out across the small Monday-through-Saturday. The small repeating-meals are slotted in (the small pasta-Monday, the small taco-Tuesday or similar pattern). The small new-recipes are slotted for the small Wednesday-or-Thursday for the small variety. The small planning ahead reduces the small daily what-are-we-making-for-dinner stress.

The small weekday-cooking is the small efficient-and-fast mode. The small Sunday-cooking is the small slow-and-careful mode. The small two-modes serve the small two-different-needs. The small weekday-cooking has to be on the small table within forty-five minutes of getting home from the small work-or-school-pickup. The small Sunday-cooking can take three hours and benefit from every minute of that time.

The small recipe-archive on the small blog has grown to many hundreds of recipes over the years. The small archive is the small searchable-resource for the small weekday-meal-planning. The small reader-feedback in the small comments-section helps refine the small recipes over time.

The small Sunday-cooking-and-writing rhythm is the small thing that has held across years of life-changes and family-events and small ordinary-weekday-disruptions. The small constant is the small Sunday. The small constant is the small recipe. The small constant is the small posting-at-seven-PM ritual.

After a BLT built around the first real tomato of the season — eaten standing over the sink the way something that good deserves to be eaten — I wanted a recipe for the table that carried the same spirit: simple, bright, nothing covering anything up. This avocado fruit salad with tangerine vinaigrette is that kind of dish. It’s the sort of thing you make when the season finally arrives and the produce asks you not to fuss with it.

Avocado Fruit Salad with Tangerine Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and sliced
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 tangerine or clementine, segments separated and any seeds removed
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, torn
• Tangerine Vinaigrette:
• 3 tablespoons fresh tangerine juice (from 1—2 tangerines)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the tangerine juice, white wine vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until the dressing is emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
2. Prep the fruit. Hull and halve the strawberries, halve the grapes, separate the tangerine segments, and rinse the blueberries. Arrange them together on a large shallow platter or in a wide bowl.
3. Add the avocado. Slice the avocados and lay them over the fruit. Work gently — you want clean slices that hold their shape.
4. Dress and finish. Drizzle the tangerine vinaigrette evenly over the salad. Scatter torn mint leaves across the top. Serve immediately so the avocado stays bright and the fruit stays fresh.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 265 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 125mg