Recipe: Strawberry slaw with fig balsamic vinaigrette
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Strawberries brighten this slaw. (Photo: Debbie Arrington) |
Early spring salads depend on something other than tomatoes to give them a burst of juicy flavor as contrast to crunchy greens.
Strawberries show off their savory side in this easy slaw with a touch of sweetness. Their bright color and tart taste work well with cabbage and spinach.
Although basic grape-based balsamic vinegar works in the vinaigrette, try fig or other fruit-based balsamic vinegar. It adds another note of sweet-tart flavor to accent the fresh strawberries.
Strawberry slaw with fig balsamic vinaigrette
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
8 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup cabbage, thinly shredded
1 cup spinach, shredded or torn
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup chopped almonds
For vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fig balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a large bowl, place sliced strawberries, cabbage, spinach, dried cranberries and almonds.
Prepare vinaigrette. In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid (such as a half-pint mason jar), combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover and shake until blended.
Pour vinaigrette over strawberry-cabbage mix. Toss lightly.
Serve immediately.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 18
Get outside early in the morning while temperatures are still cool – and get to work!
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. Transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Are birds picking your fruit off trees before it’s ripe? Try hanging strips of aluminum foil on tree branches. The shiny, dangling strips help deter birds from making themselves at home.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.