Blues Salad

With good weather, the mind as well as the body does seem to come alive. I could probably be writing three blog entries a day with all that's going on in my head. I hope to get at least a few thoughts down.

But let's stick to the subject of salads for the moment. Last year when I was editing the weekly newsletter for Common Ground Garden, the monastery's CSA garden, a recipe caught my eye for "Blues Salad." It's a salad served at The Local Blend, the coffee shop in town. I had never thought of making and had never been served a blueberry salad dressing before.

Finally, today, I made it, and it is well worth sharing. I made some changes to the original recipe. The dressing called for 4 tsp of sugar and I also didn't have craisins. I think with those two, you might be approaching Fruit Loops level of sweetness. Really, it's about the feta, walnuts and blueberries: Feel free to add more sugar to the dressing if it doesn't work for you.


Blues Salad

   courtesy of The Local Blend, St. Joseph, Minnesota
1 serving mixed greens
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts or slivered almonds
2 Tbsp craisins (I didn't have craisins and didn't miss them)
1-2 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese
blueberries (Instead of craisins, it works well to sprinkle a few blueberries on if they're fresh.)

Blueberry Dressing
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh lemon rind (I didn't bother with this)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Make the dressing in a food processor until smooth. If you like it less thick, add some water. I used sunflower oil and probably more like 2 Tbs.

Serve over fresh salads, steamed asparagus, fresh fruit salads, or grilled or poached chicken.