Strawberry-Beet Salad

This is a variation on my favorite salad theme.  When beets and strawberries are in season it is the go-to salad!  When they're not, dried cranberries, and/or sliced apples make a great alternative!  Get the beets started early, and don't toss the beet greens!  They can be eaten too (ex. blanch then saute with olive oil, garlic, and a few red pepper flakes)!

Ingredients

• beets ~cut off top (and beet greens), roast in 1/2 inch of water in pyrex pan covered with foil with at 400 degrees for about 30 min., then peel and slice into small pieces *note, red/purple beets will stain wood/bamboo cutting boards!
• mixed salad greens ~I usually have some arugala in there and love to add some sprigs of dill.
• walnuts or pecans halves ~ handfull, depending on size of salad you are making
• fresh strawberries ~rinsed and thinly sliced
• goat cheese, crumbled
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• drizzle with olive oil and balsalmic (my current favorite is a white peach balsalmic)

Cooking

No cooking except for the beets!  Once they are ready, combine all in large salad bowl, I like the goat cheese on top followed by pepper and dressing.  This is a super versitile salad, great with a lot of entres.  To mix it up a little you can add avacado slices, roast or even cany the walnuts/pecans.  This is one of my favorites!  And you usually have enough beets to make this for a few days!