Today is day 3 of our Cooking Light adventure! Val of More than Burnt Toast and myself are doing a week of cooking light. We started on Sunday with the Grilled Brie, Tomato and Arugula Sandwich. You can see Val's sandwich here and mine here. Yesterday Val made Heirloom Tomato and Herb Pappardelle. Today, I decided to make for you (and myself!) the Strawberry-Basil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. I have always been intrigued with the recipes I see for strawberries in a salad and had never made one for myself. So, when I saw this was one of the recipes in the current issue I knew I needed to try it.
What is it about strawberries that just sing summer? Right about now, that is the only thing singing summer in my area! They aren't quite in season here yet, but we are able to buy them in the stores at a fairly reasonable price still - not to mention they are high in nutritional content and low in calories! AND they make your food look pretty :o)
Don't forget the Cooking Light Magazine giveaway which is being sponsored by Magsdirect.com -- they are giving away 3 one-year subscriptions! All you have to do is leave one comment each day on either Val's or my Cooking Light post. You will have until Midnight, on Saturday, June 13, 2009 to enter. When you leave a comment, make sure you let us know how to contact you if you win. If you can't be contacted, we will have to choose another winner.
The first time I made this salad (Sunday) I made it as the recipe read - and tossed it all with the dressing before serving. I would not have done this if there had only been Grumpy and I here because we would never eat the whole thing in one night! Not only that, the photos were not all that nice and I now know why they didn't have a picture of this salad in the magazine!
Tonight I made the salad again for my dinner and made just one serving for myself. I didn't toss the dressing, I sprinkled it on top and I decided that the salad needed some toasted sliced almonds for a little crunch. Yummy!
Make sure to check out Val's post tomorrow as she will be posting about Oatmeal Cookie Peach Cobbler!
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups torn romaine lettuce
- 2 cups sliced strawberries (1 pound)
- ½ cup vertically sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
- ¼ cup torn fresh basil
- Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add romaine lettuce, sliced strawberries, sliced onion, and torn basil; toss gently to coat. Serve salad immediately.
Strawberry-Basil Salad - PIN IT!
Coleen's Recipes
I love the photo!! I have just recently discovered the joy of fruit in my green salad (I posted a baby spinach and orange recipe). Yours looks delicious and I want to give it a try. I'd love to enter your competition.
Patsyk
I recently made a strawberry salad that was so delicious! I agree, it's better to drizzle a bit of dressing at the point you serve rather than with the whole salad. Looks gorgeous!
Maria
This is my kind of salad! Looks great!
Marthe
This looks delish Shelby!! I wish I'd be able to buy the Cooking Light magazine in The Netherlands, but now that I'm in Canada I'm so picking up a copy!!
Jessie
This salad looks so refreshing! The strawberries do make the salad look pretty too
Bellini Valli
Those strawberries are calling me Shelby from your beautiful photo. Thanks for continuing this journey together for a week of Cooking Light:D
Barbara Bakes
I haven't tried fresh basil in a salad. I sure it pairs great with the strawberries!
maybelle's mom
I love fruit in salad. and fruit and nuts are even better.
the ungourmet
Yum! I love this kind of salad! The added toasted almonds is terrific!
recipes2share
This is really fresh and delicious. What a beautiful flavour combination.
Creative One
These pictures look awesome! This was one great tasting salad.
Ingrid
Great photos! I'm all over this one!
~ingrid
Delectable Dining
So refreshing! This looks like a great summer meal!
Natalie
love strawberries in salads--this looks like a great one to try! 🙂
thanks again for the giveaway!
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Helene
We will have our strawberry season at the end of June. I should make this delicious salad.
Linda
Right up my alley, HoneyB, I just did something similar last night, and I feel like I just discovered the most exciting thing ever with strawberries in salad!
I'll definitely have to try yours--and the pics look great!
etirv
This is a wonderful recipe for summer!
delilah0180 AT yahoo DOT com
noble pig
This is fun, tomorrow I'm posting a Cooking Light recipe too! This salad looks delish.
Meghan
Hmmm.. I'd love to try the salad with peaches or apricots.
♥peachkins♥
This salad looks so refreshing.Perfect for summer.
Reeni♥
What a refreshing and sweet salad!! Lovely flavors.
Bunny
What a lovely salad Shelby! You and val are doing a terrific job!
PheMom
This is my absolute favorite kind of salad! Yours looks so great!
gail
mmm, strawberries in salads are so lovely! I love your recipe!
Allie
I love the color of strawberries in a salad!
tferero
Yummy. This Salad looks so good! I don't generally like mixing fruit with salad, so I would probably have to move those strawberries off to the side and eat them separately, but it looks great, just the same!! I always love your posts... T.
TeaLady
Strawberries in salad. That sounds amazing.
Jenna Z
Oh yum! This salad looks like one I had at the local University's teaching kitchen! The picture looks like it has almonds on top, but there aren't almonds in the recipe. Are they plain or candied almonds?
Olga
That salad looks great! I like the addition of basil
Tangled Noodle
This is such a perfect summer salad!
Jamie
This salad looks so healthy and refreshing. I saw this recipe in the CL magazine. I need to make it. Wasn't it fun doing a Cooking Light week? My sister-in-law Aggie and myself enjoyed doing a CL week together last month.