Summer Berry Salad with Roasted Walnuts, Goat Cheese, and Orange Vinaigrette

This bowl of greens is bright and fun, studded with juicy berries, roasted walnuts, and goat cheese and coated in a sweet orange vinaigrette.

I spent the month before vacation obsessively searching the interwebs for a cute swimsuit. It was slightly less dreadful than trying on spandex in a florescent lit cubicle surrounded by mirrors, but by a very slim margin.

Is it just me, or are swimsuits not really made for swimming? Stores should finally just admit it and start calling them “lay by the side of the pool and don’t move or risk exposing body parts” suits, because that’s what they are.

I’m not really a “lay out” kind of girl. I love being outside. I enjoy sunshine and playing outside. But laying still and exposing my flesh to burning rays of light for hours on end is about as appealing to me as laying in a mosquito infested swamp. When I don a swimsuit, I expect to actually swim. Like, jump off the diving board, catch some waves, move my arms around, maybe even do a dive or a cannon ball here and there, swim.

So the search began for a swimsuit that was cute and tastefully flirty, didn’t cost a trillion dollars, and would actually hold all the goods in place in the water…where it’s supposedly made to be!

In case you’re wondering, that’s like trying to find a Justin Bieber fan at a Mumford and Sons concert. They’re out there, but they’re not easy to spot.

I did eventually find a suit that fit the bill, and we frolicked in the ocean together and there were rainbows and fairies singing and we lived happily ever after.

But you’re here for the salad, right?

All this swimsuit shopping got me thinking about salad. Funny how that works. In the winter when we can cozy up in big comfy sweaters I’ve got roast and potatoes on the brain. But when the seasons shifts and the amount of skin that is exposed starts to become greater than the amount that’s covered up, suddenly a great big bowl of greens sounds like just the right thing.

This bowl of greens is bright and fun, studded with juicy berries, roasted walnuts, and goat cheese and coated in a sweet orange vinaigrette. It’s summery and light and won’t make you cry when you get under those florescent lights. The selection of swimsuits, however, just might.

Summer Berry Salad with Roasted Walnuts, Goat Cheese, and Orange Vinaigrette

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients

• 6 cups mixed baby greens and spinach
• 6 ounces blueberries
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

For the vinaigrette:

• 4 Tablespoons white wine vinaigrette
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• Juice of one orange

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place walnuts on an aluminum pan. Bake in the preheated oven until fragrant, or about 10 minutes, tossing halfway through. Remove and allow to cool.

Toss greens, sliced strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, and goat cheese in a large bowl.

In a mason jar, combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and shake them up until well combined. Store in the fridge until ready to serve or pour directly over the salad. Give it a good shake before pouring.

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Recipe by Neighborfood