Summer Strawberry Salad

Summer is in full swing and fresh produce is in abundance so I've been making the most of it by putting fruit and veggies in everything, including some of the best fucking salads you'll ever eat.  Let's get into it.

Strawberry & Walnut Salad

The nuts (haha) make this salad filling (not making it better!), and you can easily change it up with blueberries, raspberries or apples. (DIY euphemism here?)

-Strawberries (and/or other fruits above) - In the quantity and cut of your liking; I like to do 4 strawberries per serving, halved to quartered. Medium dice apples, leave blue

-Cucumber - Sliced thin, peeled first if prickly; 3-5 slices per person

-Tomato (optional) - Roma or Wtf Ever - Diced; 1 whole medium should be enough for 3-5 servings. It's a minor flavor

-Carrot - Peeled, and just keep peeling thin slices off. I find it a very tolerable way to eat raw carrot. Really! Add 1 carrot per 1-2 servings

-Walnuts (almond's not bad either) - I like to slightly crumble halves into the salad if it's not pre-broken. 3 halves crumbled per serving, less if this is more of a side.

-Spinach (or Spring Green Mix) - Really though, don't waste your time on crap greens. Your salad is, if we're being honest here, mostly greens. So go for the good stuff. 

-Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing - Excellent with strawberries and most other berries for that matter. You can substitute a peanut vinaigrette if using apples, although I think the apple works with both the strawberries do not.

I feel like salad prep is self explanatory if you've made any salad ever, but if you haven't -- rinse your stuff off (yeah, I said it) under cool water and let drain or gently pat dry before peeling/dicing.  Rinse the greens separately and thoroughly dry.  Seriously though, if your lettuce or spinach mix is still watery the tasty stuff like dressing or strawberry juice won't stick to it AND it will dilute the tasty flavors.  That's a lose-lose folks, and we're not all about that here at Andy'sEats. 

If making a large quantity, add/toss everything but the dressing in a large bowl.  Per Serving: Place greens in a bowl; add diced/peeled toppings proportionally (helpful, right?).  I do find that having chunks of some things and strips or rounds of others (like carrots or cuke) adds both visual and mouth appeal (yup) to this dish.

Serve with dressing in the bottle/on the side.  Dress to your liking.