Strawberry Spinach Salad

I've never seen spinach leaves as big as my face until I looked inside this week's organic box. Our Asst. Buyer & Packing Manager (and our resident farming expert), Laura West, rescued these for your organic boxes directly from Morningside Farm. We worked with Morningside last summer, rescuing their oversupply of organic produce, but it's with heavy hearts that we hear of their closing this season. Laura managed their farm for the past several years and as they sell their equipment and greenhouses, she cut these leaves just in time to save them from tractor traffic! Sometimes, the produce in our boxes isn't about expiration dates or being ugly- it's about rescuing surplus that may otherwise spoil in the fields. It takes all of the above to continue toward eliminating food waste in our area and we are so thrilled to have Laura on our side, connecting us with these farms so we can make this magic happen. I asked her why the leaves are so huge and she laughed and said, "They're happy!" The soil is warming up, the air isn't freezing, just a perfect crisp from farm to the cooler, ready to pack up and make their way to your kitchens this week! Listening to her talk about the process from plant to harvest is incredibly impressive and we are so thankful to have her knowledge on our team! Here are some photos she took while cutting the spinach this week.

It's been triple rinsed and hand bagged, what a labor of love!

We wanted to keep it simple and enjoy the sweet and tender leaves as is! We paired the raw spinach with some rescued berries, a sprinkle of roasted walnuts and cheese. This salad is a spring classic in my kitchen! You can add any assortment of fruit, nuts and cheese- a favorite combo is raspberries, roasted almonds and goat cheese too. Let's dig in! Strawberry Spinach Salad Serves 4 Ingredients 1 bag Perfectly Imperfect organic spinach 1 pint Perfectly Imperfect strawberries 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup roasted walnuts Dressing of your choice- balsamic vinegar and olive oil always seem to do the trick S&P to taste Directions. 1. As you can imagine, not much to it here. Trim your spinach leaves of the longer stems, keep them whole or chop them up roughly and transfer to a bowl. Add halved strawberries, a sprinkle of cheese & roasted nuts and serve tossed in dressing or dressing on the side.

We cant wait to see what you use your spinach for this week, so be sure to tag us on Instagram, @perfectlyimperfectproduce, so we can share your foodie creations. Thanks for another great week, enjoy your goods!