I’ve often wondered who thought to put spinach and strawberries together in a salad. It’s delicious, but really, who would have invented that? It turns out, Mother Nature herself did! In the photo, I’m holding a plant called Strawberry blite which is an edible annual plant. It is also known as blite goosefoot, strawberry goosefoot, strawberry spinach, Indian paint, and Indian ink. It is native to most of North America throughout the United States and Canada, including northern areas.
I had never heard of it until Michael, one of our gardeners brought some to the kitchen, along with several other edible flowers and plants from our gardens and the property around the camp. They are delicious and we were lucky to get some while they were in season early to mid June.
How to recreate this lovely combination:
Salad:
- 2 bunches of spinach (about 8 cups)
- 2-3 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 red onion sliced very thinly
Dressing: (use as little as possible to let the spinach and strawberry flavours shine through)
- ½ cup vegetable or olive oil
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup white red wine vinegar
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together
Optional toppings:
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons walnuts or pecans* (we do not use these at Camp Kawartha as we are a nut safe facility)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Enjoy!
-Lil “Coach” Hirdes
