Day 144: All Dressed Up

Some months ago, my husband and I went to one of our favorite stores in Spokane, Oil and Vinegar, and bought a mystery bag (this is an incredibly fun and relatively cheap-for-the-customer way they periodically clear out their stock). In it, there was an amazing cherry tomato and shallot chutney, amazing garlicky crackers, a little oil dipper pot, and a bottle of strawberry balsamic vinegar. There may have been something else, but these are the things I remember.

We ate the chutney and crackers right away. We also used some of the strawberry balsamic to use as a dipper for bread, but this stuff is super sweet, so we didn't use a ton. It's yummy, yes--but still, super sweet.

So last weekend, we finally went to Oil and Vinegar again. We chose a complimentary oil for our vinegar--a lime riesling grapeseed oil. We tasted it at the shop and it was pretty good together, so we bought some, brought it home, and I began concocting a salad to go with it.

Here's what I put together:

1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup crumbled feta (I used reduced fat because it's firmer)
4 cups baby spinach
~1/4 cup oil
~1/4 cup vinegar (don't trust oil and vinegar measurements--I drizzled and eyeballed it)
salt and pepper

I tossed it all together in a big bowl, and we were so eager to eat it, we didn't even use plates. We ate it out of that bowl. It was kind of fun, and certainly a new experience. A very tangy salad--definitely don't leave out the nuts. If anything, you might want more nuts. It adds a lovely toasty nutty crunchy meatiness. Yum yum yum.