Strawberry Arugula Salad with Quinoa

Sweet, zippy and fresh, this strawberry arugula salad with quinoa is colorful and completely satisfying.

What’s not to love about end of spring/early summer? You get the benefit of spring greens, like arugula, dill, herbs, plus the sweetness of summer like fresh, juicy berries. The combo found in this strawberry arugula salad with quinoa makes my heart sing and my belly happy.

The Garden

There have been times when I walk through the garden and I’m so amazed by how things are growing (and how lucky we are), that tears come to my eyes. I’m not sure how to explain it, but once a barren land in the winter, now it’s teeming with color, sounds, light, bugs, birds, flowers, bees, and amazing scents. It all sort of happens without me, which is a good thing. I just plant some seeds, and nature does the rest. And as long as I take good care of it, the garden takes good care of us.

These strawberries are popping all over the place, every day, more and more. They’re called June-bearing strawberries, but they end up producing in late May, and keep going. One of our plants had about 15 berries on it! They compete with the blueberries that tower above them, since we only have one bed allotted for berries and bird netting. Until we can get more space to grow food, they’ll have to play nicely for now.

Perfect Flavors That Play Nicely Together

Arugula has a nice peppery flavor, is a light green with loads of flavor and nutrients. The berries from the garden are sweet in June, the perfect time for them to be included in your dishes. And the quinoa is a seemingly plain team member here, but it adds a nice texture change, heartiness, and satiety factor to the salad. The balsamic finishes it off with some dark deep flavor that’s both sweet and sour. A perfect recipe, coerced together by nature, I think. And it works beautifully.

Variations On This Recipe

• Instead of arugula, try adding spinach, baby kale, spring mix
• Try adding in some edible flowers that pop in summertime: nasturtiums, sage flowers, edible chrysanthemums, borage
• Add a bit of marinated tempeh on top for added protein
• A variety of herbs would go well with this recipe: dill, parsley, cilantro, etc.
• Change up the strawberries for melon. Melon and arugula make an amazing pair!
• Consider using other berries, such as black berries, raspberries, blueberries, as well as grapes go well here.
• For additional veggies, consider some roasted veggies on the side.
• Even a little Cilantro & Herb Chutney on top!

Tried it?

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