Strawberry prices have started to drop in the Bay Area.   Spring is here in the Bay Area!

After I made my Kale and Strawberry salad for the video, I ended up with pretty much a whole pack of strawberries.  Hmmm…   I also thought “What am I going to do with that huge bottle of “Newman’s Own Lighten Up Raspberry and Walnut dresing” I got through Foodbuzz Taste Maker Program?”

As you know by now, I’m the kind of person who NEEDS to make different dishes from the same base, whether its dressing or sauteed vegetables, or marinated chicken. Because  I have three quirkiness — 1. I love saving time, effort, and money (which put me in troubles often with my mother especially when I was still living in Japan), 2. I hate to throw things away (Mottainai!), and 3. I get bored easily without variety. Plus, I’m pretty creative, but many creative endeavors such as pottery and painting require a lot of time and patience, something I’m not known for.  So I use everyday cooking as my creative outlet as well, which you can also eat in minutes.  Instant gratification! It’s a good thing!  You get two birds with one stone.  My mother calls it laziness, I call it efficiency.  Anyway, let’s not get into the Mom thing…  or this post will turn into a book!

Well, I decided to make my favorite — Stradish, a refreshing salad of strawberries and radishes, with these two leftover items.

The combination of strawberries and radishes sounds a bit strange, but it’s really nice and refreshing, a little sweet, and a little tart. Since the requirement for the video is that each dish needs to be done in less than 30 minutes, the usual marinating business is out.  The solution?  Sprinkle with salt, and squeeze out water, a method favored by many Japanese homecooks for various dishes, especially for Asa-zuke, a quick Japanese pickles.  It turned out to be as delicious, and FASTER!  5 minutes vs 3 hours until ready.  See, sometimes being lazy and impatient is a good thing, not only for myself, but for others too. : )

Stradish (Strawberry and Radish Salad)

Ingredients:

• 1 pack strawberries (cut in half or quarter if big)
• 1 bunch radishes – about 10 (sliced thin)
• Salt
• About 3 tablespoons Newman’s Own Lighten Up Light Raspberry and Walnut Dressing

1.  Sprinkle a little bit of salt on thinly sliced radishes and mix gently, leave for about 5 minutes.  They should start releasing water.  Squeeze the water out.
2. Add the radishes into strawberries, pour the dressing and mix gently.  Best if you let the flavor combine for about 5 minutes, but it’s ready to eat!

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Tagged as: cooking, dressing, easy, fast, food, lighten up, low calorie, newman's own, radish, raspberry and walnut, Recipe, salad, strawberreis, strawberry