Strawberries!

We are blessed to have a farm just a very few miles from us that grows strawberries and blackberries and sells all manner of fresh produce and flowers. And there is also a cute little "store" with some specialty food and gift items. I made a quick stop on Friday to pick up a pack of shrimp & grits mix and was happy to discover they had just started picking strawberries. I didn't have time to pick my own but I did buy a couple of gallons to bring home for our weekend.

For Easter dinner we made a new (to us) spinach-strawberry salad recipe and had strawberry shortcake for dessert. And everyone took fresh berries home with them, too. I know I could freeze the strawberries but I'd rather find lots of ways to use them fresh. This salad recipe is a keeper.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Feta

7-10 cups fresh baby spinach (or 2 bags of baby spinach)

5 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 red onion, sliced into thin strips

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

1/2 cup (or more) crumbled feta cheese 

Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 pinch paprika

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

• In a large bowl, toss the spinach with the strawberries and almonds.
• In another small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over spinach mix and toss to coat.
• Sprinkle feta cheese over the top.
• Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Now, we only made a half batch of salad, but Jessica mixed the full dressing recipe and took half home with her. It was yummy just drizzled over the berries. Jessica also decided to use goat cheese instead of feta this time. You can certainly make this salad to suit yourself--toasted pecan instead of almonds, maybe? Bleu cheese instead of feta? It all sounds good to me.

So glad they are our neighbors.