Thursday, April 7, 2011

Spring Salad Season Is Here


     As the weather gets a little warmer, I start thinking of favorite salad combinations. One of my favorites is the combination of spinach and goat cheese. I really don't have a recipe. I use a bag of baby spinach, rinsed and drained. I add a generous amount of crumbled goat cheese and some sliced strawberries. I top it all off with about 1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts. Toasting the pine nuts is simple. I put them on a piece of foil in a 350 degree oven for just a few minutes until they start to brown a little. Watch them closely.


     For a simple dressing, I mixed 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil (olive oil would be a bit heavy for this dressing) with about 2 Tablespoons of good quality Balsamic Vinegar and a Tablespoon of strawberry jam. I added a pinch of salt and pepper. It is very thick, almost like molasses. A little goes a long way, put it on the salad just before serving.



I served it with a bacon and swiss quiche.
You can find the quiche recipe here.


I'm joining Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday
Please stop and see our very busy hostess!


15 comments:

Scribbler said...

This looks soooo goooood!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Well hi there. I've had strawberries in my salad before, but haven't ever used strawberry jam in my dressing. I'm going to have to give that a try soon. Thanks for the idea!

Happy Foodie Friday,
ButterYum

Glenda/MidSouth said...

It all sounds good except the goat cheese. I would have to find a substitute. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Lynn said...

This sounds great Sue! I've never had goat cheese and I want to try it:@)

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

I'll have that for lunch please! YUM!
Yvonne

Barbara F. said...

Spinach/strawberry salad is my favorite salad. Yours looks delicious. And what's not to like about quiche - where I live pine nuts are hard to find because of the price. I saw them in Sam's Club for $15 for a 15 oz. package. xo,

Unknown said...

This looks yummy!

TY for your sweet comment today. We are tickled PINK with our first great-kid-ling's arrival.

Have a beautiful weekend.
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon

Rettabug said...

What a lovely, HEALTHY salad & a very interesting sounding dressing! I WILL be trying that combo very soon.
Now I'm hungry for lunch. LOL

I've always wondered why spinach makes your teeth feel funny after eating??? Hmmmm...will investigate & get back to you on that. I'm eatin' it anyway!

Hugs,
Rett

Anonymous said...

Your salad sounds absolutely scrumptious! I love that you added the strawberry jam into the dressing. This is one to try for sure! (and probably with that yummy quiche recipe, too)

Tammy

Traci said...

That looks really good!

bj said...

That looks amazing. We had a nice salad for lunch today...but no wonderful quiche. :(
xo bj

Jenny said...

Yummy! And, just what I need right now. It's OK on my diet, too.

Thanks for the great idea!

Patrice said...

Oooh, that looks so tasty!

Unknown said...

It really looks good, but I would have to use another cheese. Haven't develpoed a taste for goat cheese. Have a good weekend!

koralee said...

I think I will be making this tomorrow..too good to not! Thanks my friend. xoxo