Pear Salad

Because it's autumn here and this was just the thing for a lovely, sunny, bright and breezy day :)

Ingredients (per person)

A large double handful of baby spinach leaves, torn
1 beurre bosc pear (or one with similar soft texture), cubed
50g of soft feta (more or less), crumbled
1T pecans, roughly crushed
1T black cherry vinegar*
1 med-large strawberry
Salt and pepper to taste


Method

Finely chop or puree strawberry with vinegar. Let steep. Meanwhile, combine all other ingredients and gently toss. Pour over vinegar, season and consume :)


Alternatives

* Good quality balsamic vinegar should be a passable substitute for black cherry vinegar.
Try walnuts instead of pecans, apples instead of pears, or parmesan instead of feta.

Basil- Tomato Salad

SUMMER FAVORITES!

At the height of summer, when both fresh tomatoes and home-grown basil are in season, I tend to get a little wild with my favorite flavor pairing. Tomato and basil compliment each other to perfection, and they come in enough colorful varieties to please everyone.

To celebrate, I'm posting a few of my favorite tomato-basil recipes....



Basil-Tomato Salad

* 2 large, ripe, firm tomatoes (a variety meant for chopping)
* 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 15 large leaves - I like to combine the lemon basil and purple)
* 1 green onion or 1/4 of a small sweet onion chopped
* 5 small fronds of parsley
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Chop (or tear) the first four ingredients and toss gently.

Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over salad. Toss again.

Eat!


Alternate Ending: This simple salad can be combined with bite size cuts of mozzarella cheese, spooned over garlic toast for a bruschetta, or used to garnish steak hot or cold. It will last at least one day in the fridge.