Scrumptious Springtime Salad Suggestion (Dig That Alliteration!)

This is gonna be a quickie with no pictures, I'm afraid. I should have snapped a few, but you see, I was hurrying, trying to get dinner on the table before the Lost season finale. (Wasn't it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD? Lord, I do so love that show! How will I ever survive the withdrawals until its return in the fall? ARRRGH!! And don't even tell me about American Idol! I taped it and am on "media blackout" until I view the tape. Not that I expect any surprises--go, Jordin!) Nevertheless, our dinner was simple but remarkably tasty, enough so that I wish to report on it and pass some ideas along to my readership.

Naturally, with the weather indulging us, we're still in a grilling place these days. And when I was rearranging stuff in the freezer today, trying to make room for a few more loaves that I baked for the farmers' market, I excavated a long-lost flank steak which I promptly thawed and marinated all day in a teriyaki-style mixture comprised of roughly a half cup of soy sauce and a tablespoon of each of the following: brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, and minced garlic. Oh, and I probably used quite a few grinds of black pepper as well. I cooked the flank steak on the grill to medium on the ends and medium-rare in the middle, then I rested it for ten minutes before slicing it very thinly at an angle and against the grain. Just scrumptious! I served the steak with baked potatoes made from the most gorgeous and gigantic California Long Whites that I spied in the produce department the other day. And they were just so delicious--really sweet and flavorful, even without a lot of condiment embellishment. Look for them in your market...you'll be pleased that you did. Another thing that has just arrived in our grocery stores in the last week or two is the sweet corn. No doubt it's been trucked up from Florida, but today's sugar-enhanced hybrids have an amazing (refrigerator) shelf life, and they keep for quite some time before turning to starch and losing their flavor. Don't get me wrong, nothing beats fresh sweet corn from local farms, but that's still three months away for us, so Florida corn will certainly tide us over until then! And it really was yummy with our dinner.

But what I really want to tell you about is the marvelous salad that Cyd made. We procured some beautiful organic spinach from some nice vendors directly across from us at the market last week. And Cyd added sliced, fresh strawberries and crumbled bleu cheese and dressed it with a raspberry vinaigrette. Gorgeous and delicious! I think it would have only been enhanced by the addition of a handful of nuts--walnuts or pecans or even sliced almonds would do nicely. It may sound like an odd combination, but it's really lovely. With spinach and strawberries in season right now, this salad should become your new springtime favorite!