Join us for Lunch TODAY! (and recipes galore!)

Today’s the day for Strawberries and Salad Greens lunch! Primary lunch is 11:45am – 12:15pm, and elementary lunch is 12:30 pm- 1:30pm. Adult lunch is $4- you can pay Ms. Lucas in the lunchroom in the morning to avoid the crowd or at lunchtime.

Thanks to super mom Becky Levin for coordinating this delicious week.

Here are a few more spring recipes to enjoy-

* Strawberry Salad- Rough chop walnuts or pecans and toast at 425 briefly until they turn brown and are fragrant, tossing them a few times to brown evenly.  Monitor closely- because they will burn in the blink of an eye.  Mix 3-4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice with l Tablespoon honey, 2 tsp poppy seeds, some fresh pepper and a dash of kosher salt. Pour in a blender and blend while adding 1/2 cup canola oil in a slow, steady stream. Slice fresh strawberries and toss with mixed greens, arugula, and/or spinach. Toss greens and nuts with dressing and crumbled goat or feta cheese if you like.  This is also great with avocado and grapefruit sections. You can also add your favorite protein- grilled shrimp, roast chicken, etc. in place of the cheese.

* Spinach Pesto- Toast 1/3- 1/2 cup walnuts at 425 briefly until light brown and fragrant, tossing a few times to brown evenly. As mentioned above- be careful! Cool and then put in food processor with about 8 ounces or more of fresh, clean spinach leaves and 1-2 cloves garlic (depending how large they are and how much you/kiddos like garlic. It’s always easier to start off with just one and add more later if you like.  Fresh, raw garlic is pretty strong). If you like, add a handful of clean basil leaves. Blend while slowly pouring in 1/3 cup olive oil.  Add kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste. If you like, add freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste. Great tossed with (whole grain) pasta and grilled asparagus,  shmeared on a bagel and topped with grated cheese, on pizza crust with your favorite toppings, or as a quick marinade/shmear for grilling chicken, fish, or shrimp.  Fresh pesto freezes well in ice cube trays and then packed in ziploc bags.

* Grilled Greens- Hearty greens like chard and kale are delicious grilled! Clean and dry the leaves, and put the whole leaves briefly on a very hot grill for about 2-3 minutes or until they are lightly charred. Remove with tongs (they will be hot!), chop roughly, and toss with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of good olive oil, kosher salt, fresh pepper, and cracked red pepper.  If your kids don’t like spicy, omit the red pepper.  Emma will eat anything with bacon- it’s also great with just crumbled bacon or crispy, chopped proscuitto and a drizzle of olive oil.

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Thanks for joining us for Strawberries and Salad Greens! Now it’s time for dessert-

* Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar- Yes this may sound weird, but it’s fantastic and a traditional Italian dish. Rinse and hull (remove the tops, slice down the middle and remove the white part- or just slice them up to make life easier) fresh strawberries- about 1 pound.  Pour about 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 1/2 Tablespoon sugar in a large bowl and mix- you don’t need a lot to macerate the berries- a little goes a long way. Toss in the strawberries and let it sit at room temperature for about 20- 30 minutes. Delicious on top of vanilla ice cream, plain whole or lowfat yogurt, or with fresh whipped cream.

* Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp- Try this with less sugar in the fruit part; the sweet strawberries balance the tart rhubarb nicely. This is a versatile crisp recipe that you can substitute whatever seasonal fruit is best- pears, apples, cranberries, stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectaries). Tarter fruit like cranberries and rhubarb requires a little more sugar. You can omit the spices if you like or substitute with a heaping tablespoon of crystallized ginger in both the crunchy and fruity parts.

Clean rhubarb and strawberries- you will need about 8 cups of fruit, approximately half and half (about 4-5 stalks of rhubarb). Hull strawberries and cut in half. Cut off the ends and the leaves (rhubarb leaves are toxic) of the rhubarb and chop roughly into about 1 inch cubes by slicing long strips down the stalks and then crosswise (like celery).  Mix 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour, and 1.5 teaspoons grated orange zest (just the orange part; the white pith is bitter), and 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom together and toss with fruit. Pour fruit mixture into a buttered baking pan or pie dish. With an electric mixer, combine 1 cup whole wheat white flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1 cup old-fashioned oats and 1.5 sticks of cold unsalted butter cut into cubes. You can also add 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans to the crumble mixture. Crumble over the fruit and bake for an hour until fruit is bubbly at 350. Serve warm with homemade whipped cream.

* Strawberries with Homemade Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt- Homemade frozen yogurt/ice cream is fast and fantastic.  I rarely make the real stuff with the custard base, because it takes too long. But it’s super fast to make your own with just whole milk (with or without cream), coconut milk, or yogurt in an electric ice cream maker- and less expensive than a trip to 32 Below.  Keep the bowl insert in the freezer, so it’s good and cold.  The yogurt and coconut versions are easiest.  Just empty the contents of a container of Greek yogurt (whole milk is the yummiest- and no more than about 3 cups depending on the size of your ice cream maker) into the chilled ice cream bowl and follow the manufacturer’s directions. Done in about 30 minutes. For a dairy-free version, empty 2-3 cans of coconut milk (about 3 cups and not cream) into the chilled bowl and follow the manufacturer’s directions. Add a little agave for some but not too much sweetness. If you want to get fancy, add about a 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract with the agave.  Then toast unsweetened coconut and add toward the end of the freezing process- about 20 minutes in. You will want to eat this right away! It will get hard if  you store it in the freezer. Top with sliced strawberries.

Check out lots of other recipes a thttp://www.strawberries-salad.blogspot.com/p/recipes_3161.html