Aunt Helen’s Strawberry Salad

The days of May seem to trot along at a hectic pace filled with a plethora of end-of-school year activities and celebrations. Can you relate? My husband and I both have May birthdays, our anniversary and Mother’s Day tucked in there to celebrate! Of course I find this all fun but it does seem to cut into my time in the kitchen.

 Last week I needed a quick, seasonal salad for several weekend get-togethers with friends and family so I opted for Aunt Helen’s Strawberry Salad for several occasions.  Now it may seem like cheating to use bottled salad dressing, but I declare it officially isn’t if you are having a busy week! And if you want to be a little sneaky about it, you could pour the dressing into a Ball jar and act like you made it from scratch. I promise I won’t tell a soul!

The dressing in this salad, Aunt Helen’s Sweet Vinaigrette, has a balance of sweet and tangy flavors that compliments ripe strawberries. I most often make this salad with feta cheese but it is also tasty with Swiss or Provel. I like it best topped with sliced almonds but walnuts are also delicious.

While this salad is named in honor of Aunt Helen, my husband’s great aunt, the recipe is not actually hers. We named  it after her so we could remember  her spunky personality and celebrate that she lived to be 105 years old! Aunt Helen’s Salad can be found on our restaurant menu and the dressing is for sale in our Country Store in Belleville.

I look forward to making this many more times this strawberry season and I hope you will give it a try when you find yourself craving a delightful salad amidst a busy week.

Eat well this spring, Angie

Aunt Helen’s Strawberry Salad

5-6 cups mixed salad greens

½ cup shredded Swiss cheese or Feta cheese crumbles

1/3 cup English walnuts or slivered almonds

Aunt Helen’s Sweet Vinaigrette drizzled to taste

We are so excited to announce that we now have Homegrown Strawberries available for purchase in our Country Store in Belleville and even more excited to tell you that Pick-Your-Own Strawberries will open this Saturday, May 17th at 9am at our Belleville Farm. As always, please check our harvest hotline for the most up-to-date picking information.