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A fresh salad with a zesty strawberry vinaigrette is completed with the delicious flavors of Freschetta Pizza at home!
Whether because of our collective cultural conscience, the memories engrained in us by passed generations, or the physical effects of balmy weather upon the mind, ‘summer’ conjures images of lazy days spent on a sun soaked lounge chair, or of drifting in a glassy pool as the rest of the world fades away. Food is similarly easy, flame grilled steaks, burgers, and foot-longs downed with something stingingly cold. So often, however, such products of our imaginations remain precisely that, only rarely being brought to fruition.
I can’t help recalling Lao Tzu who remarked that life is a series of changes that are best not resisted as that is a cause of sorrow. Instead, he advised, that we “Allow reality to be reality.”
Yet, like so many other facets of our ‘modern’ life, the ‘natural’ is often edged aside by the required and the expected, relegated to the realm of hopes and aspirations. After all, the many screens of our daily lives are jealous masters. Busy schedules need tending, work requires finishing, and electronic notifications beg to be noticed. Mornings fade to nights, and little by little the overlong days summer grow short, the sun becoming something we often dream of enjoying, but rarely make time for. Things need not be this way.
Thankfully, as with all such self-constructed bindings, one need merely make a conscience decision in order to ‘escape.’ After all, sometimes we truly need to just ‘let reality be reality,’ unhindered by our very synthetic obstacles. Whether it’s ‘real people,’ ‘real experiences,’ or ‘real food,’ real things are always better. To truly enjoy these it becomes necessary to ‘unplug,’ to simply let go and let life carry you where it may, even if just for an evening. That’s essentially the mindset I’ve taken lately so that I can ‘steal’ moments to enjoy the season I’ve been writing about, whether its preparing some of those summer dishes for myself, or just sitting out on my porch to ‘do nothing’ for an hour or two.
However, when taking these moments, I usually like to keep things super simple. For example, yesterday afternoon I decided to turn my phone off, and unplug from absolutely everything that involved a screen, and just unwind. Obviously, ease and simplicity were on order. Fortunately, I had several Freschetta pizzas on hand, which granted me that extra layer of ease and comfort. I had picked up several varieties at Walmart a few days ago, the Freschetta Pepperoni, Freschetta 4-Cheese, and Freschetta Brick Oven Mushroom & Spinach. With no chemical leaveners, real sun-ripened tomatoes, and 100% provolone and mozzarella cheese, the pizzas provide precisely the taste that life deserves.
One of the key things I try to convey here at Living the Gourmet is the importance of matching the food not just to the atmosphere but to the people you are serving – and I couldn’t help matching a pizza to each member of my ‘crew,’ myself included. To pair with the pizzas, I prepared a quick kale salad tossed with cabbage, chopped almonds, fresh berries and a homemade strawberry vinaigrette – and the afternoon was complete.
Kale Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette featuring Freschetta Pizza
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 quart of fresh strawberries - sliced with some left whole for garnish
- 1 bunch of fresh kale - cleaned and torn
- 1/4 cup almonds - chopped
- 1/2 cup of white cabbage - sliced thin
- 1/2 cup of red cabbage - sliced thin
For the Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup of strawberry jam
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl and toss.
For the Vinaigrette:
- Combine all of the ingredients for the strawberry vinaigrette in a food processor and process until creamy.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
Once that was done, it was time to unwind on my porch, unplug, and finally let the summer take me where it may – even if just for a long afternoon. What are some your favorite ways to unwind and keep things easy? I would love to hear from you!
Enjoy with Love!
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Pam says
What a great tasty salad, I love that it includes almonds. Freschetta pizza is one of the ways I make summer easy and now to include this salad!
Allison - Celebrating Sweets says
What a beautiful summer salad! The dressing sounds delicious!
Kristen Chidsey says
Love this salad and love those days you can unplug from everything!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
Dear Catherine, I love your comments on "real" and I couldn't agree more. Real is authenticity, and that's the true prize no matter what the season. This delicious salad and pizza combo are real, delicious and will let me spend more time with my "real" family. LOL. This will be the perfect fuss-free summer meal on our slate patio under the umbrella. Thanks for the inspiration my friend, I hope you are able to spend some time enjoying the real sunshine this summer. XOXO
Michaela Kenkel says
Lovely salad and delightfully easy meal!
Taylor Kiser says
Love the beautiful colors of this salad! Pizza night is always a winner!
Ami@NaiveCookCooks says
I love frozen pizza for the convenience!! This salad looks wonderful!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
You don't see kale over here as soon as raspberry season is here...the salad looks beautiful and tasty.
Gloria says
What lovely and delicious salad Catherine 🙂
Big Daddy Dave says
Catherine, Nice little salad. Great visual appeal! We've never found a store bought pizza that we liked. We will have to give these a try. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Dottie Sauchelli-Balin says
Dear Catherine,
Enjoyed this post very much. I love a salad especially with a berry vinaigrette and who doesn't love pizza?That is what I always have a big crisp salad with a slice of pizza. Looks beautiful..Never had Freschetta pizza before will have to try this...It looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing..Blessings my friend..
Hugs Dottie 🙂
Jess says
This sounds so delicious!
I would love for you to share this with my AMAZING Facebook Group with over 300 Members to share easy craft projects and recipes: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Lori says
What a wonderful pairing for pizza! I love this salad idea! Thank you! (client)
Claudia Lamascolo says
beautifully prepared!
Miz Helen says
A great combination for summer, your pizza and salad look awesome! Have a great weekend and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Jessica says
This sounds like such a great, fresh combination of flavors. Strawberries are a favorite salad addition in our home. Thanks for linking up at our Tips & Tricks Link Party!
Jessica
My Life by Jess
Xaviour says
Looks terrific. Dint know you can be creative with kale. In Nairobi we call them "sukuma wiki" a Swahili phrase for "going by the week" ...staple for seeing through the week.
Very nice
April J Harris says
How lovely to just unwind like that, Catherine, and what a delicious way to do it! The Freschetta Pizzas look delicious and oh my, what a beautiful salad! I'll be featuring it at this week's Hearth and Soul Hop, which will be live soon. Thank you for sharing with us!