Berries!

I've already mentioned that I like salads with a lot of stuff in them. Lately, the grocery store has had some very nice berries in stock. It's not quite berry season yet, but when berries look that yummy, it's hard to resist.

We had a family dinner a couple of weeks ago and my Mom stopped at Harmon's to grab a pre-made salad. It was to die for. It was a very basic salad that we were able to easily recreate because of the ingredients. It has spinach, nuts, and four kinds of berries. Yum!

Last summer, my Mom tried a mixed berry fruit salad that I am sharing as well--it is absolutely scrumptious too.

Berries can be kind of pricey, but when they're this good, sometimes they're worth the splurge!


Spinach, Walnut, and Mixed Berry Salad

Ingredients:

Fresh baby spinach
Walnuts, chopped (you can toast them, if you like)
Strawberries, hulled and quartered
Blackberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Poppy seed or raspberry vinaigrette dressing (store-bought or homemade)

Directions:

Place spinach in a large bowl and top with walnuts and berries. Lightly toss the salad. Top with poppy seed dressing after serving rather than tossing the entire salad in the dressing (this will keep the salad fresh longer and help it to avoid wilting too soon).

Source: Harmon's grocery store. We simply copied a store-bought salad!

Notes: I didn't offer any amounts for the salad ingredients because it really depends on how big you want to make the salad. Put as many or as few berries and nuts in your salad as you like! You could also use any dressing that you like. But I think a sweeter dressing compliments the berries better. In fact, the salad is so good on its own that you might just want to eat it dressing-free. My sister-in-law loves it that way. The poppy seed dressing that we used was Litehouse brand. It can be found in the refrigerated area of the produce section. But raspberry vinaigrette compliments the salad well too (there is a low fat raspberry vinaigrette offered by Girard's that is to die for). The Litehouse dressing isn't low-fat (which is probably one of the reasons why it was soooooo good), but there are nice low-fat poppy seed dressings available under other brands (for instance, Maple Grove Farms offers a yummy, yet somewhat tart, poppy seed dressing).

 

Update 8/17/2016: This salad has been a favorite of ours over the years. After my son became allergic to walnuts, we substituted almonds in this salad and it has been just as delicious.

Mixed Berry Salad with Mint

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur or orange juice
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved (quartered, if large)
1 cup raspberries (4 ounces)
1 cup blackberries (4 ounces)
1 cup blueberries (5 ounces)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and liqueur or orange juice. Gently fold in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and mint. Serve immediately (or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours).

Source: Martha Stewart website. From the Everyday Food magazine, July/August 2008 issue.

Notes: We used orange juice in place of the liqueur and it was fantastic.