As the weather warms, I once again begin to eat salads regularly. I just can't bring myself to eat cold crisp vegetables in the dead of Winter or even the brisk Fall. I lean towards soups and stews and roasted vegetables during those months. But now we've had a couple hot, hot days and I'm back to buying the giant mixed greens from Costco once again...until my own garden becomes plentiful. So today is shopping day and in a last minute decision I came home for lunch. All we have are greens. No cucumber, no avocado, no apples, no nothing. Just greens. So I peak around every corner of my fridge to see if I can find something, ANYTHING, to dress up this salad. Ah-ha! I found Strawberry-Basil Jam from a local market down in Charlottesville. Perfect! I quickly made a vinaigrette and my not-so-fancy greens became a delicious salad. Topped with a little cold/leftover flank steak and lunch was complete. Here is a modified version of what I did to make the dressing, I assume not everyone has Strawberry-Basil jam sitting around in their fridge. Use what you have, almost any flavor will do! And kids LOVE these slightly sweet salad dressings. Enjoy!
1/3 cup good balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (cold-pressed)
1 tsp stoneground or Dijon mustard
1 tsp strawberry preserves (with real ingredients, no junk) or to make it Paleo just crush up some fresh strawberries
A few basil leaves (shred in advance if you won't be using a blender/processor)
A pinch of salt
A grind or two of pepper
Process in a blender, vitamix, food processor or whisk intensely until all ingredients are well incorporated.
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