May 18, 2016

Strawberry Asparagus Salad

Martie Food and Recipes 6 ingredients, feta cheese, lemony vinaigrette, strawberry asparagus salad 14 Comments

I have a very busy week, and I’m working hard in my studio, sewing and planning out new items for my Etsy shop. It’s so hard to stay focused when the weather is so gorgeous and I want to be outside! I need quick, delicious lunch ideas to help me stay on task and feeling good. I threw together this amazing strawberry asparagus salad yesterday with just 6 ingredients, and I just had to share it with you. If you love salads and fresh, spring produce, then you’re going to love this one!

Strawberry Asparagus Salad

How did I come up with strawberry asparagus salad, you may ask?  Easy…I made it with ingredients I had in my fridge. The best part about this perfect spring weather is that strawberries are in season, lettuce is popping up in the garden, and the asparagus is nice and skinny…not to mention on sale! We scored the fresh, buttery leaf lettuce from our neighbor’s garden, and there’s an abundance of it! When I took stock of my fridge, this was just a no-brainer.  I knew I wanted some crunch (pecans!) and some cheese (there’s feta in my dairy drawer!), and I made this light, lemony vinaigrette (I took her advice and added a little honey to sweeten it, and I used about a teaspoon of dried tarragon instead of fresh) the night before for our side salads (lasagna!). Put it all together, and boom…strawberry asparagus salad was born!

You could make any variation of this awesome salad that you like, but don’t leave out the strawberries or the asparagus.  The combination of these two fresh, spring ingredients made it so awesome.  Don’t like pecans?  Try walnuts!  Have an aversion to feta cheese?  Use gorgonzola or goat cheese! Prefer spinach?  Go for it!  But if you’re going to call yourself making strawberry and asparagus salad, then, duh, you gotta have strawberries and asparagus.

I blanched the asparagus for just a few minutes (dropped it into some boiling, salted water), then snatched it out of there with some tongs and dropped it into some ice water to stop the cooking and lock in that bright green color.  That was the only cooking involved!

Of course, if you wanted to turn strawberry asparagus salad into an easy supper, you could add some grilled chicken.  If you’re like us, you often have leftover grilled chicken hanging out in the fridge (we cook up lots just for this purpose).  I didn’t yesterday, but I sure didn’t miss it on this salad!

Just tear or cut your lettuce, chop your blanched asparagus into bite-sized pieces, slice the strawberries, roughly chop the pecans, and toss it all together with the feta cheese and salad dressing of your choice.  I think a yummy balsamic vinaigrette or even a raspberry vinaigrette would be delicious on this, as well.  I just love lemon and tarragon together, especially for dressing a fresh salad.

Having an exciting salad for lunch really helped me stay focused and get stuff done.  It took no time to make, and it wasn’t heavy or overly-filling.  If I get too full at lunch time, I’m worthless!  This strawberry asparagus salad was the perfect meal for a busy day.

salad ideas from around the web!

If you want some other ideas for strawberry asparagus salad, click here and here.  I found these on Pinterest after I finished writing this post, and now I want to try these other versions, too!  Then I decided I shouldn’t be so stuck on strawberries, and wondered what other fruits would be good on a salad.  Check this out!  Man, that salad sounds good! 😉 Looks like I have plenty of yummy salads to try this summer!

Do you ever get creative at lunch time? I don’t always, trust me. Nor do I make it a huge habit to eat this healthy.  On Monday I ate a bag of Andy Capp Hot Fries for lunch, so there’s that. Tuesday’s option was much better, and way better for me!

This morning, I’m thinking doughnuts….

X,O,X,O,   Martie

This post is linked up with Wonderful Wednesday, Thursday Favorite Things, FoodieFriDIY, Sweet Inspirations, Over the Moon, and Merry Monday!