Local Food and a Recipe

It's strawberry time here, so I went to the Beckner's Farm Stand (on Rt #122 in Burnt Chimney) and bought quarts and quarts of their strawberries, which had been picked early that same morning. The Beckners are German Baptist farmers and grow everything they sell from their stand. If you go there early enough this time of year, you'll find one of their daughters scrubbing and cleaning the greenhouse tomatoes and those delish long English cukes. Sometimes Mom or an Aunt comes running out with a warm-from-the-oven loaf of zucchini bread wrapped in a dishtowel. Yum!

But their strawberries are prized. As big as those huge tasteless berries that are shipped from thousands of miles away to our grocery stores, the Beckner's berries are so ripe and sweet they beg you to take them home with you. Not only that, their prices are comparable to the store's prices in town.

I promised a recipe. Here's my strawberry salad~

STRAWBERRY SALAD

2 hearts of Romaine (or 1 large head) chopped

1 quart fresh strawberries

2 tsp good quality Balsamic vinegar

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 tsp Splenda or sugar, if desired

1/4 cup sliced almonds

(1) When you rinse and clean the berries, put aside 3 or 4 large berries for garnish. (2) Put about 1 cup berries into a small bowl and mash with potato masher. Add Splenda or sugar if needed. (3) Add Balsamic vinegar and EVOO, then whisk together. Stir in remaining cleaned and sliced berries to vinegar mix. (4) When ready to serve, toss Romaine bits with the berries and Balsamic mixture, top with sliced almonds and garnish with large berries. Serve immediately. Beautiful when served in a clear glass bowl.