strawberry balsamic salad

I love that brief time of year strawberries are in season.*

When there are too many to just eat, even by the handful, and they're so perfectly ripe they won't keep more than two days. I'm sure a normal, rational person would freeze some for later in the year, but, honestly I just thought of that, and when drunk on ripe fresh strawberries it's hard to plan ahead.

So I've been trying to eat up these perfect strawberries in as many ways I can.



Here's another version of the salad I posted last year, now with pictures!

Strawberry Balsamic Salad:
(serves 2 as dinner with a side)

• 12 medium strawberries
• 1/2 red spring onion, thinly sliced
  
• 1.5 tbsp EVOO
• .5 tbsp golden balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• capers to taste (if your taste is against capers leave 'em out, I used 2 tbsp)
• salt & pepper
• field greens (or baby spinach, or bib lettuce, or red leaf, or...)

1. macerate 1/2 the strawberries with a pinch salt and the balsamic vinegars
2. stir in oil, onion and capers
3. fold in greens
4. salt & pepper to taste
   
5. slice remaining strawberries on top
   

For dinner we ate the salad with green garlic cheese bread, recipe to follow.




*Note-
the kind of strawberries that make you sing this

Weekend Cute

While I think about writing up recipes, and pack for a week in Kansas City, MO., you should have some cute.



Where can I get me some jerboa?

home again

So I'm back from China.

How was it?

In two words:



Fucking Awesome.

the current cause of my anxiety & excitement

View China in a larger map

Saturday project

Going to China in three days? Haven't started packing?

I know just the thing that should be number one on your to-do list; how about reupholstering the dining table chairs?

Sound good?

No, really, look at these:



Thought so.

(Admittedly, the other two, the ones we use, were not nearly this bad.)

So.



Much.



Much.



Better.

And very easy.

1. Just unscrew the seat from the chair base.
   
2. Remove all the staples (this took us about 15 minutes per chair; really, who uses that many staples?)
3. Unfold the old fabric and measure or use directly as a template for the new fabric
4. Cut fabric and carefully fold and staple around the seat.
5. Screw seat back on to chair frames.
6. Voila! Exciting new chairs, for about $3!

I really liked this fabric, found at Ikea for less than $2 a yard. But, it's not upholstery fabric, so I'll probably get to switch it up again in a year or two. In the meantime I'll be on the lookout for cool upholstery samples.

Of course now I'm tempted to paint little green, white and black birds along the chair backs- which would limit future fabric choices.