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Do you have strawberries in your garden? I do – they are classed June bearing, but they always are ready to pick the second week in May. We have had 2 weeks of strawberries already. There is nothing like fresh strawberries from your own garden; they beat the store bought variety hands down. Why are they called strawberries? Well, berries +moisture = ROT! In the damp climate of England, strawberry growers knew that if they wanted to prevent their berries from rotting, they had to keep them off the wet ground. So, they placed straw around each plant. When the berries grew, they landed right on the straw, which prevented them from sucking up the ground moisture! Did you realize that all strawberries are handpicked? They are rushed right from the hands of fieldworkers into coolers where huge fans pull out the field heat. The berries are then shipped in refrigerated trucks from the coolers to final destination.
Did you know that the American Indians were already eating strawberries when the Colonists arrived? The crushed berries were mixed with cornmeal and baked into strawberry bread. After trying the bread, the colonists developed their own version of the recipe and Strawberry Shortcake was created.
Today’s recipe is a combination of a spring fruit and vegetable. (I have lots of fresh spinach in my container gardens.)
Strawberry and Spinach Salad
1 pt fresh strawberries
2 bunches of fresh spinach
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ T. minced green onion
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp paprika
½ C. olive oil
½ cup balsamic or cider vinegar
2 T. sesame seeds
Wash strawberries under cool running water. Remove stems and set aside to drain. Wash spinach and remove tough stems. Tear large leaves into small pieces. Drain. In medium bowl mix rest of ingredients and whisk together. Slice strawberries into halves or quarters in large bowl. Add dry spinach. Pour dressing over all and toss. Serves 8. I think it could be halved fairly easily. Enjoy