Post 21: Salad with Strawberries and Basil

Ahhh... I've received an invitation to the first potluck of the summer season! (What a great idea, Meesh!) Since the weather has been warming up, I thought that I something light and refreshing would help everyone acclimate to the heat.  A simple salad with strawberry and basil sounded like a good idea.  Strawberries would provide a nice sweetness to the salad and reflect the summer season at the same time.  And basil would help refresh the palate so that the guests at the potluck don't feel like they have been eating a heavy meal.  Here we go!

Ingredients:

1.  mixed greens

2.  strawberries

3.  basil

4.  balsamic vinegar
5.  lemon
6.  olive oil
7.  salt & pepper

Some serious strawberry.

The egg (XL size) dwarfs in comparison.

Directions:

Does this recipe need instructions? Ah... do I even call this a recipe? 

1.  Slice the strawberries, and chop the basil.
2.  Toss the strawberries and basil in with the mixed greens.
3.  Drizzle with olive oil, the fresh juice of a lemon, salt and pepper.
4.  Taste to make sure the leaves are seasoned to your liking.
5.  Dash the balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette) on for a bit of sweet and a bit of tang.

Savor the sweet.

Strawberries signal the start of summer.

The basil and lemon juice cooperated in a light tap dance on top of the tongue, and the surprise from the basil and the sour (just enough) from the lemon juice really helped open our appetites for the other dishes at the potluck.  (Meesh, you make a mean chive mashed potatoes.  And those enchiladas were nothing short of addicting.)  The tang from the balsamic vinegar really helped bring the flavor out from the strawberries.  Try it out.  Let me know what y'all think! Until the next potluck, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20100621/20100501