Two Experiments in Fruit Salad

Strawberries are in season at the farmers market!  What always strikes me is how each one of these wound-dark berries tastes slightly different from the others--there's not the same homogenization of flavor that you get with supermarket strawberries.





I worried that this recipe was making things more complicated than they should be, but it ended up just bringing out the natural wonders of the berries.

Strawberry Basil Salad

Ingredients

strawberries, sliced

basil, chopped

lemon juice

sea salt

*

And now for a similar, but even more unusual salad, that my professor Helen passed on to me.  I had to wait until my Cashew Cheese was finally ready, but it was worth the wait: with its sour, nutty, and salty aspects, this stuff turned out to be a fantastic component in the salad, which originally called for feta.  I thought that tomato and watermelon might be too similar to pair together, but when you place them side by side, you taste what's different between them.  This salad was really lovely.

Watermelon Tomato Salad with Basil and Cashew Cheese

(from thefoodsection.com)

Ingredients

3/4 pound seedless watermelon, rind removed
3/4 pound heirloom tomatoes (about two large tomatoes)
3 ounces cashew cheese
8 leaves basil
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste