Three-minute strawberry salad

Yesterday was so crazy that I didn't get around to dinner (or photographing dinner) until about 9:30. You know how those weekend days go: you roll out of bed at 10, make coffee, and then proceed without stopping until about 1 am. And the tasks--buying groceries, going to the banks, buying cat food--are not glamorous.

Despite the errands, however, I would call yesterday glamorous. First, Raymond and I bought an exercise machine via Craigslist, from a guy who makes and repairs telescope lenses for a living. That blew my mind. What a unique profession!

Then, I worked in the garden, planting garlic, strawberries, cabbage, oregano, and re-potting my dying aloe plant. The near-death of the aloe weighed heavily on me. Aren't they supposed to be invincible? Calpurnia kitty spent most of the day in the garden as well, spying on birds and eating spearmint. She also tracked mud in the kitchen. Ah, kitty.

Later, Raymond helped our neighbor Matthew move. In return, Matthew gave us mulch, a rake, a watering can, and a new desk--plus some other things we promised we'd Freecycle for him. Matthew says he's moving to a sweet townhouse on the Willamette River.

Around that time, my ukulele came in the mail and I found a great online ukulele tuner. I can almost play "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with help from a chord chart.

So we've been busy. But not too busy to throw together a summery salad for dinner. If you have shredded veggies, a pint of strawberries, and some leftover spearmint sauce, you can have salad in under three minutes.


Three-minute strawberry salad with spearmint sauce
serves 2

• Six medium strawberries, washed
• 1/3 cup shredded broccoli and carrots*
  
• 2 Tb. spearmint sauce, or 2 Tb. light agave nectar + 2 drops spearmint extract
• 2 - 3 sliced spearmint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Slice each strawberry into small pieces and toss with broccoli and carrots. Stir in the spearmint sauce until the salad is coated. Let the ingredients "marinate" for five minutes before serving.

*The veggie base in this recipe is flexible. You can find a pre-sliced mix at Trader Joes, Kroeger/Fred Meyer, Safeway, Target, usually billed as "stir fry veggies." Asian markets may sell this or a pre-made blend of shredded carrots and daikon, a watery, mild-flavored Japanese root that substitutes well. And if you have a minute to spare, you can also julienne 2 baby carrots and a few fresh broccoli stalks for the salad.

If you liked this recipe, you may also enjoy:

Spearmint lemonade with rosewater
Kicky coleslaw with brown sugar dressing