A Berry Summery Salad

After last week’s Ricotta Filled Strawberries, I had a bunch of berries left over, which was good, because with the temperatures still in triple digits, I’m not turning on anything in the house that might generate heat, and berries are a great way to make a salad more interesting.  I can hear Seeley grumbling now.  She doesn’t think berries belong in a green salad.  Well, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on that one.  This salad is fabulous, and berries bring the perfect sweet tart juicy goodness to the mix. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Lettuce
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Crumbled feta
• Nut clusters
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Personally, I can’t stand prewashed and processed lettuce in a bag.  If you like it, go for it, but I think it’s worth chopping your own.  That being said, lettuce really has to be washed well.  See all the dirt in there? 

The best way to wash lettuce is to chop it into manageable pieces and then put it into a lot of water so it has plenty of room to be swished about.  I happen to have a salad spinner, which, if you make salad more than about once a year, is a must have, I think. 

I’m pretty sure I hear Seeley grumbling again… something about “Where the hell am I going to put a salad spinner?”  Well, if it helps any, it doubles as a salad bowl when you take the strainer part out, and you could use it as a storage bowl for just about anything.  Anyway, I rinsed my lettuce 3 times to make sure all the sand was gone.  You can do that in a large bowl or even in a sink full of water.  This next part, however, you can’t do with a regular bowl.  Pop the lid on.

And let ‘er rip! 

Look at all the water that came off.  It must have been at least ½ cup.  I’ve heard of people putting the wet lettuce into a pillow case and spinning that by hand, but in my hands, that would just be dangerous. 

Next up is the dressing.  For this salad, we’re making a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette.  Drop 4 large-ish strawberries into your blender or food processor.  It won’t be enough substance to make a puree just yet, but small chunks are fine at this point. 

Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Now you should be able to get a pretty good puree.  Then, with the blender still running on a low speed, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup of olive oil. 

Ok, dressing’s done.  How easy was that?  Now onto the berries.  How many you need, depends on the size of your salad.  For 1 whole head of lettuce, you’ll probably want about a cup of each.  Just rinse the blueberries, and then chop the strawberries into blueberry sized pieces. 

Next are the nuts.  I absolutely love these cashew clusters from Costco.  They make a fabulous snack, so why not use them in a salad?

The only problem is, they’re a little big, so you’ll want to chop them up a bit.  You can, of course, substitute any kind of nuts you’d like. 

Personally, I like my salad tossed.  It just isn’t that much work, and it’s so much better that way.  Just drizzle on a little of your dressing, and toss until everything is coated. 

Throw in the berries, nuts, and a sprinkling of feta. 

Toss again and voilá!  A beautiful and delicious salad perfect for any hot summer day. 

The combination of sweet berries, tangy balsamic, and cool, crisp lettuce, is definitely a treat. 

What is your favorite summer salad?

Piquant Parmesan Potato Pie

Ok, so pie might not be the best name for this, since it doesn’t have a crust, but it doesn’t really qualify as a tart, torte, or lasagna either.  Pie worked with my alliteration, so we’ll go with that.  Basically it’s layers of thinly sliced potato and zucchini layered with lots of parmesan cheese and other yummy stuff. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

Potatoes
Zucchini
Green onions (⅓ cup, diced)
Parmigiano Reggiano (¾ cup and ¼ cup finely grated)
3 Tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Grate 1 cup of good cheese.  You want imported parmigiano reggiano, not ‘parmesan’, and certainly not the stuff in the green can.  Put ¾ cup of it into a bowl and set the remainder aside.  Into the bowl with the cheese, add the green onion, salt, and pepper. 

Stir those together and set them aside.  Thinly slice your zucchini and potatoes.  Melt your butter.  I like to do it in a small, glass measuring cup so it’s easy to drizzle.  Gather all your components along with a glass pie plate.  (or I’m sure a square pan would be fine)

Drizzle ⅓ of the butter on the bottom of the pan. 

Lay the slices of potato, overlapping slightly, circling in toward the center.

Sprinkle half of the cheese/green onion mixture over the top. 

Put down a layer of zucchini slices just as you did the potato. 

Then basically just repeat.  Drizzle on another tablespoon of butter.

Then comes a layer of potato, sprinkle the other half of the cheese mixture, layer of zucchini, drizzle the last of the butter, and one final layer of potatoes.  On the top, sprinkle the ¼ cup of cheese you set aside. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  After that time, remove the foil.  You’ll be slightly disappointed. 

But don’t despair, bake it for another 20 minutes, uncovered, and you will have beautiful, golden perfection. 

Now, it’s going to smell amazing, and you’re going to want to just dig in, but if you can control yourself for 10 minutes, it will be worth the wait.  Cut it into wedges and serve on the side of whatever your favorite main course is.  Or, you could just eat a wedge and yogurt and call it lunch.  Either way, it’s amazing. 

It’s a special week for me.  My eldest niece (we’ll just call her Kiddo) graduated from high school.  (omg, when did I get so old??)  Congratulations, Kiddo!!