It really is strawberry season here in Florida and everywhere you turn you come across lush, ripe Plant City strawberries. I acquire them often when they re in season as unfortunately the season is fairly short, and when the local strawberries are no longer obtainable the only ones you are able to uncover are imported from wonderful distances and just do not have much flavor. When in season, I enjoy my strawberries chopped on yogurt for breakfast, dressed in a little sugar and balsamic vinegar for dessert, or sliced in a salad as shown in this recipe. You’ll be able to effortlessly turn this salad into a major curse by adding some crisp bacon pieces and slices of grilled chicken, but I like it simply with some crumbled goat cheese on top. I utilized a raspberry vinegar in my dressing to intensify the berry flavor too as just a touch of honey for sweetness.

Serves 6

2 Bags (6 Ounces Each) Baby Spinach

1 Pound Fresh Strawberries, Hulled & Sliced

4 Green Onions, Diced

1 Cup Sliced Cucumbers

3 Ounces Goat Cheese

Dressing:

2 Tablespoons Raspberry Vinegar

6 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Honey

1 Teaspoon Poppy Seeds

Salt & Pepper

Place the dressing ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix well. Place the spinach, green onions, cucumbers, and strawberries in a large bowl, and toss with just enough dressing to lightly coat the spinach leaves. Arrange the salad on individual bowls and crumble some goat cheese on leading of each and every plate. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

3 Cups White Wine

5 Bay Leaves

2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

2 Lemons

1 Pound Calamari, Cleaned And Cut Into Rings

1 Pound Medium Shrimp, Cleaned And Deveined

1 Pound Scallops 3 Cups Cooked Octopus Cut Into 2 Inch Pieces

1 Cup Black Olives (Optional)

Dressing:

1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Lemon Juice

3 Large Garlic Cloves, Thinly Sliced Br/>

1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley

Dash Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper To Taste

In a stockpot, combine 3 quarts of water, the wine, bay leaves, and crushed garlic. Slice the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the mixture. Drop the lemons into the pot. Bring the mixture first to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low.

First cook the shrimp, cook 2 minutes and remove from the pot. Cook the calamari 1 1/2 minutes and remove from the pot as well. If you are cooking scallops, cook in the same manner for 2 minutes. Mix the seafood together and set aside. If you are cooking octopus, add it to the pot, and cook it for about 45 minutes to an hour or until it is tender. Remove it from the pot and let it cool. Remove the skin and suckers, and cut it into bite sized pieces. Mix the octopus with the other ingredients.

Place the seafood in a bowl and add the chopped celery. Add the dressing ingredients and mix well. Cover and let marinade a minimum of 12 hours. Just before serving, adjust the seasonings, and add the black olives if you are using them. Serve.

The Baccala Salad is often served during Christmas Eve in most Italian homes. It is salt cod which is delivered straight from Norway. This special recipe for this salad can feed around 4 persons.

Ingredients:

Salt cod, soaked, drained, 1lb

Garlic cloves, chopped, 2 pcs.

Extra VCO, 4 tbsps

Lemon, juiced, 1 pc

Whole and cured black olives, ½ cup

Celery stalk, diced, 1 pc

Black pepper, freshly ground, ½ tsp

Red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp

Directions:

Place the soaked salt cod fish in a medium sized saucepan. Add just enough amount of water to cover the fish by 1 inch. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 3 minutes or until it gets flaky but make sure to not overcook. Remove and drain the cod. In a bowl, mix it with some garlic, celery, olives, black and red pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Bread the fish apart in medium sized pieced before adding to the bowl. Toss it with the mixture and refrigerate for an hour before serving. Serve it cold or at room temperature.

Photos via yummymeatwhiz.com

You would not dare to miss this recipe for something else. A good looking and great tasting meal would be yours in no time. What you will need:
• 4 slices rustic artisan bread 1” thick
• 1 raw garlic clove, scraped or crushed
• ½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 medium sized heirloom tomatoes in various colors, stemmed/cored/sliced to ½ inch thick
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 oz. Mountain Gorgonzola, broken into pieces
• 2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. coarse ground sea salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper

Directions
Toast the bread either on a charcoal grill or under a broiler until golden brown. Put the garlic over the toasted slices then drizzle with oil. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl until fit to taste. In a serving plate, arrange the toasted slices with the mixture. It is now ready for consumption.

For a great salad with the twist of Italian style, take this quick recipe. The mix of several key ingredients make it burst with luscious aroma. What you will need:
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of drained, oil packed sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of capers
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers
• 1 lb of fussili pasta
• 1 1/2- 2 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes
• 8 ounces of braided, marinated mozzarella chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. I use one from Trader Joes that has a good kick to it.
• 1 cup of packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup of minced, pitted black olives

Directions:
In a food processor, blend the first 6 ingredients until tomatoes are coarsely chopped. On a pot, cook the pasta as directed with salt then drain the water off. Transfer pasta to a large bowl and toss with the dressing until fully coated. Add and toss well with the chopped fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, Parmesan and olives. Chill for an hour and bring to room temperature before serving.

Zucchine Trifolate
Serving salad is the best way to start a meal. It’s easy, healthy and something that everyone enjoys. Go ahead and make it interesting. Make it an encouragement for everyone to try eating healthier food.

Courgettes, sautéed with olive oil, garlic and parsley

700 g (1 2/3 lb) courgettes (zucchini)
1-2 cloves of garlic
Bunch of fresh parsley
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Chilli pepper, if you like
Salt

Trim the ends of courgettes, wash under running water and cut into slices crossways. Put olive oil, chilli pepper and garlic cloves in a non-stick frying pan; fry lightly garlic until it becomes golden and then remove it and add courgettes slices. Keep on cooking, covered, over a fierce heat, stirring now and then.
Meanwhile clean, wash and chop parsley. At the end of cooking, season to taste with salt and add parsley. Switch off the gas.
Serve hot or warm.

Ingredients
2 thin slices pancetta, (1 1/2 ounces), diced (see Tip)
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 pound chard, stems and leaves separated, chopped (see Note)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted (see Tip)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation
1.Cook pancetta in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring, until it begins to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
2.Add shallots, chard stems and thyme to the pan drippings and cook, stirring, until the shallots begin to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add chard leaves, water and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat; stir in the pancetta, walnuts and pepper.

If you prefer eating vegetable meals than rice meals, this quick recipe is a breeze. Try this one out for a delicious and satisfying salad. What you will need:

• 1 large cucumbers, sliced thin
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• red wine vinegar
• ground black pepper
• pepperoncini, diced

Directions:
Soak the cucumber and onion in the vinegar. Add pepper and pepperoncini to taste. Refrigerate before serving.

The Italian dressing used for a salad (mostly vegetable ones) is consists of a mixture of water and several kitchen condiments, vegetables and spices. These include vinegar, pepper, sugar, corn syrup, oil, onions, bell peppers, corn syrup, garlic, oregano, fennel, salt and dill.

The American style Italian dressing would hopefully imitate the normal Italian setting for a salad preparation where olive oil, vinegar, salt, and sometimes black pepper are being mixed with the salad on the table and gives the freshest aroma.