It has been an impressive year in music for fellow Lauras! Marling, Stevenson, Veirs and Mvula all have released/are releasing great records in 2013, the latter being the only I hadn’t been familiar with before this year. Laura Mvula is a British singer/songwriter who completely blew me away with her debut Sing to the Moon. At first listen her voice reminded me of Adele, but that lazy comparison went away pretty quickly. Mvula’s music is big, soulful, fearless, sometimes a little jazzy, and danceable; her lyrics are smart and empowering, and the whole record is fantastic.

The inspiration
In honor of Sing to the Moon I made a salad of honeydew, arugula, feta cheese and mint, with a lime ginger dressing. The honeydew melon and the lime-ginger dressing are for the opening song “Like the Morning Dew”: cool and refreshing. The mint and arugula are for “Green Garden,” one of my favorite tracks, because they came from our garden (and the arugula also for her spiciness)! OK, “garden” is a generous term: We bought the mint as a plant and put it into the ground in the backyard, but the arugula we grew from seed and it’s been so satisfying to be able to go out and pick it from the backyard. (We were planning to grow a lot more herbs and veggies, but we thought the cicadas would come and ruin everything — they didn’t — and now we get annihilated by mosquitoes… can’t win!) All together, the dish is sweet, healthy and refreshing: appropriate for a singer who’s bold and has a healthy, body-positive attitude, that promotes being happy with who you are, despite anyone else’s opinions or expectations. In “That’s Alright,” another one of my favorites, she sings, “I will never be what you want and that’s alright/ ’cause my skin ain’t light/ and my body ain’t tight/ and that’s alright/ but if I might/ I must stand and fight.” Amen, sister.

THE RECIPE
Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:
Salad:
A few handfuls arugula
1 cup honeydew melon, diced
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 teaspoon finely chopped mint

Dressing (combine all and mix well):
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
C’mon, you know how to make a salad!