Let me just say spring does not get any better than this! I was so excited to be able to chaperone Jack’s class on a field trip to the strawberry patch last week. Freshly picked strawberries, one of my favorite things! I usually take the boys every year, but this year was proving difficult given their different school schedules. I didn’t manage to get out and do it during spring break which meant getting all three boys to pick together would be near impossible.
Thank goodness for this field trip. It gave me time to pick with Jack and his whole class while Ewan was in school and Oma watched Sean. The field trip actually ended up being much longer than planned, luckily Oma and Opa were able to watch both boys a little longer.
We started with a picnic lunch. Dining al fresco is so wonderful, even if it is with a large group of Kindergarteners! We also read a book, colored and did a maze. Then it was my favorite part, actually picking the berries. I wanted to pick a gallon, I mean really, why bother going if you aren’t going to have enough to enjoy. All the students got to pick a quart….so Jack wanted to swap with me so he could pick more! We did quite well, so many bright red berries calling our names and jumping into our baskets.
As I mentioned before, the trip was a little longer than planned. Jack was trying to nap on the bus ride back he was so tired! We arrived at the school at 2:30, I signed Jack out early, ran home and finished getting things ready for the school carnival and was back at school with all three boys to set up by 3:15! It was a VERY LONG and EVENTFUL day!!
What does a person do with so many strawberries? Of course eating them as is would be absolutely wonderful. Frankly, I did eat a lot just plain. Freshly picked strawberries are sweet and have such a wonderful flavor all by themselves. Jack, on the other hand, had other plans. For some reason he thought I was going to make a strawberry pie.
As it would turn out, Jack got lucky. We went to a friend’s house for dinner Saturday night and I made a strawberry pie to take. Unfortunately I won’t be blogging that recipe. It was one of those things I threw together with what I had in the house! I wanted a chocolate graham cracker crust but had to settle for organic animal cookies processed with cocoa powder! I made a glaze and covered the berries. It was yummy!
So back to the recipe for this post. Strawberries pair wonderfully in a salad. Fresh greens from the garden and sweet strawberries are one of my favorites. And you know I am going to have goat cheese with this salad, it is a favorite with everyone in our family! I had a bottle of balsamic reduction in the fridge screaming to be drizzled on top. It goes so well with strawberries and goat cheese.
It was an absolutely wonderful spring salad. The flavors were all natural and sweet in their own way. There is no need to junk up a simple salad like this. That being said, it would go well with toasted almonds on top for a nice crunch. I meant to do that but completely forgot! As I was taking the salad out back for dinner I realized my mistake, oh well, maybe next time. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese and Balsamic Reduction
6 c. fresh salad greens
1/2 pint strawberries, sliced
3 oz. goat cheese
1-2 Tbs. balsamic reduction (see notes)
Arrange the sliced strawberries on a plate of greens. Place chunks of goat cheese on top and drizzle with balsamic reduction to taste.
NOTES: For a balsamic reduction cook balsamic vinegar over medium heat until it is reduced in volume by one half. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yields 4 servings
Feeding My 3 Sons 
I have some goat cheese in my fridge and was wondering what to do with it. Thanks for this simple recipe, I can now use the goat cheese. What a day you had, I saw the photos and thought: “omg she grows strawberries as well”…now i see you went for a trip. At least the kids enjoyed and you seem to have enjoyed too. I wish you a wonderful week.
I have thought about growing strawberries but so enjoy our outings. Besides, I am not sure I could ever plant enough for our family! The boys love them so much they would never leave them alone! We do have the blueberry bushes and have thought about putting in more of them. Hope you enjoy this salad sometime, I really need to go strawberry picking again to get another fix!
Lucky you, strawberries are so expensive in store…and blueberries are even more expensive, Have a pleasant day. Your photos look very nice!
Thanks for the compliments. The berries are still not cheap to pick yourself but the quality cannot be beat. So much fun and so incredibly delicious!
Berry picking is the best thing ever!!! Glad you got to enjoy it with your kiddos. And that salad, yum. Perfect to pair berries with the cheese. Mmmmmm….
I LOVE berry picking too! The boys eat their weight in berries while picking! Our supply only lasted until Sunday, we picked Friday. As it was I almost forgot to save the berries for the salad, I almost ate them!
What a great outing for the kids! If you’re going to chaperone an event, this has to be one of the better ones. Anytime you put strawberries and balsamic together in the same dish, you’ve got to have a winner. Adding goat cheese make it all the more likely. The proof is this salad. It really does sound good.It’s great, too, that your boys like goat cheese. “Foodies in Training.” 🙂
Yum! We love berry picking with our son as well, although we’re headed into autumn at the moment so I’m just going to have to live vicariously through you. Thanks for the lovely recipe and photos!
You have all the flavors of autumn to look forward to. Also a wonderful season! It is hard to beat fresh picked berries! We just went picking again with the whole family over the weekend before going to the Crawfish Festival. A “foodie” weekend for all!
This salad looks so good! I love balsamic reduction. I usually just make it as I need it, but if I kept a bottle of it in the fridge, I could have it more often. : )
I just recently started keeping the bottle in the fridge. So much easier. I drizzle it on my lunch salads nearly every day now…after all my lettuce is everywhere! So much more flavor than balsamic vinaigrette.
It is a great idea, especially with summer coming. I love it on fresh tomatoes, Caprese salads (or paninis), and on grilled zucchini.
Ohhh I love this, great pics of your boys picking the strawberries, SOO CUTE! My husband isn’t a huge salad guy but I know he’d love this (especially the goat cheese)- I’ll have to try this, it’s perfect for summer too 🙂
You definitely can’t go wrong with fresh strawberries and goat cheese, especially for a non salad lover! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy.