Strawberry Spinach Salad

When I was a child growing up in the Fraser Valley, early summer meant strawberries. My father planted several fields of strawberries on our family's farm on Judson Lake. For us this meant strawberry picking in late June and early July. We didn't much enjoy the picking, although I was always eager to try to pick more than anyone else on our field. I was careful not to start eating any of the sweet, sun ripened berries, because once that happened it was hard to stop-and my flat wouldn't fill up nearly so quickly.

Every now and again as we picked one or the other of us would startle a garter snake. It would slither out from where it had been hiding under the leaves of a strawberry plant, and the shouting or shrieking of the unsuspecting picker could be heard throughout the field. I was always worried that this would happen to me, and I became very (and of course unnecessarily) afraid of the harmless little snakes.

The strawberries that we ate then were always locally grown. The start of the strawberry season brought a whole range of seasonal treats to our table: strawberry short cake, strawberry pie (sometimes with a mix of strawberries and early rhubarb), strawberry tarts, fresh strawberries with ice cream, and of course strawberry jam (still a popular favourite). And of course all the strawberries that we had then were organically grown, ripened on the plant, and delicious.

Now, strawberries can be found in produce stores almost any time of the year. Even if they're not quite as sweet as the ones we used to get right off the field, they are still tasty, and healthy too.

This easy but delicious recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad is a favourite at our house. I like to serve it at almost any time of the year, but it is especially good for a summertime barbeque, when I use locally grown berries, or at Christmas time, when the bright reds and greens add a festive, tasty, and healthy touch to our family dinner.

Salad:
1 - 9 oz. / 255 gm package of fresh spinach leaves
1 head of butter lettuce or
½ head iceberg lettuce, coarsely shredded or torn
1 - 8 oz. / 227 gm can sliced water chestnuts
¾ C / 175 ml cooked bacon, crumbled
2 C / 500 ml fresh strawberries

Dressing:
1 C / 250 ml salad oil
½ C / 125 ml sugar
½ C / 125 ml ketchup
¼ C / 60 ml red wine vinegar
1 tsp / 5 ml Worcestershire sauce
1 small red onion, finely chopped
½ tsp / 2 ml dry mustard
1 tsp / 5 ml salt
¼ tsp / 1 ml cayenne pepper

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a 1 qt. / 1 L jar, shake well and store in the refrigerator until serving time.

Wash the lettuce and spinach well, swirl in a salad spinner or pat dry with paper towels. Just before serving time slice the strawberries, drain the water chestnuts, and combine all of the salad ingredients in an attractive bowl. Reserve some of the crumbled bacon to sprinkle over the mixed salad as a garnish. The dressing may be poured over and mixed with the salad just before serving, or the salad and dressing may be served separately, so that your guests may put as much or little dressing over their salad as they please.

I often serve this salad on special occasions-my guests always love it and frequently compliment me on it.

This recipe appears in my second book, A Time of Wonder A Season of Joy (Judson Lake House Publishers, 2006), which also includes a DVD with a demonstration of how to put together this salad and the other elements of a festive dinner.

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Selma Willms Turner is co-author and food editor of two books about the cuisine and culture of Mennonites in Russia and Canada. This recipe appears in her second book, A Time of Wonder A Season of Joy (Judson Lake House Publishers, 2006), which also includes a DVD with a demonstration of how to put together this salad and the other elements of a festive dinner. Selma lives in Abbotsford, where she is working on new publishing projects.