It's been a few weeks of extremes. First Dave left for Mexico and it was very quiet at home, then friends arrived from the US and and the quiet was quickly replaced with late nights and laughter. Dave returned, I left to travel with my friends, then it was back to a packed Route de St Cergue 36C. The past week has been so much fun hosting my friends and showing them all the best parts of Switzerland and of course, my favorite meals. More to come on that in another post, but another extreme has been the weather.

Last week it was still in the high 80s, now it's quickly dropped to the low 60s. Autumn is definitely here, at least for now, although I have heard references to October often being Indian summer so I'm holding out hope for that. But before the leaves start falling, I have a few more summer recipes that I need to catch up on first.

This is a great one as it's much more filling than an average salad-greens-only salad, plus the scallops add something special. I absolutely love scallops and although the texture can sort of be strange for a salad, searing up the scallops so they're crisped is the best way to do it.

Lemon-Dill Bulgur Salad with Scallops

2c water
1c uncooked bulgar
8 sea scallops
2c chopped cucumber
1 1/2c chopped plum tomato
1c canned corn
1/4c chopped fresh dill
1/4c lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp bottle minced garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
3c spinach, watercress or arugula salad

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then add the bulgur, partially cover, reduce heat and simmer until the water is absorbed. Set aside, uncovered, to cool.

While the bulgur cooks, heat a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Add the scallops and cook 3 minutes, turning once. Remove from heat and put scallops in a bowl.

Add bulgar, cucumber and next 9 ingredients to the scallops; toss well to coat.

Divide the spinach on individual plates, then top with some of the scallop mixture, bringing the scallops to the top.

Results: A perfect summer salad with the refreshing flavors of cucumber and ripe tomatoes. The bulgur gives this salad substance without being heavy. Unfortunately the photo of the finished product was a bit disappointing and dull and I don't think it captured how tasty this really was. I can't wait until Dave and I invest in a better camera and hopefully that will make all the difference (I'm hoping my poor photography skills aren't to blame...).

Based on recipe in Cooking Light Cook Smart Eat Well.