Scattered picking. The sad recognition that already another season has come to a close and yet again it feels as though I’ve missed the ripest fruits that could have come from falling behind, unrealized opportunities or unfulfilled plans.
I constantly seek affirmation in metaphors related to nature, ones that correspond to the weather, agriculture, even gardening tropes that one may expect to see printed on a floral mailbox cover at your grandmothers’ home (the ones that rotate to match the bulbs or blooms she’s planted beneath them accordingly as they appear).
In typical fashion, I found a way to tie the notice that there were no more strawberries left in the fields at any of my local u-pick farms for me to harvest as another way I’ve fallen short or behind in life, just another let down due to my self-proclaimed inability to stay on track.
In reading this all back it’s pretty ridiculous sounding, melodramatic, kind of funny, and a reminder that life isn’t really that bad- in fact it’s pretty amazing if all I have to worry about is finding a job I like and can add value towards as I figure out what I’m doing next now that I’m done with school. It’s a luxury to have such first world anxieties, but I guess it’s a balance of understanding relativity for each of our individual lives while also not taking ourselves too seriously and having a wider, global perspective.
A strawberry salad, with fennel and pecorino. And my favorite pink peppercorn and lemon. It’s delicious, and I plan to make it often, rotating the berries accordingly. The lesson I’m pulling to front of mind today for my self from the lack of ripe strawberries to pick at my local farm is that there is always another opportunity, method, or solution, and exercising creative flexibility is also freeing, more productive than worrying about the minutia. No one likes a tight-ass. Some people hate strawberries, so if we can sub sliced peaches into a summer salad rather than scattered berries, why are we so attached to the first iteration in the first place? The whole point is to create an enjoyable base recipe (or life plan), then be able to adjust to your preferences, environment, what’s currently available to you.
So maybe try this salad, or riff off it completely. If you take creative liberties on every ingredient expect one I’d say the raw fennel is a delicate and neutral pairing for just about everything, even melon! Remember your good seasoning of olive oil if you’re looking to make it more of a meal than a grazing snack, and some vinegar and spice never hurt anyone (expect for the flies in your diy ACV trap on the kitchen counter but we don’t have to talk about that here).
Happy summer friends. Enjoy seasonality, and never feel like you’re missing out or behind on life. We are all living in unique and exciting times, on various chapters, and experience each season differently than the next. Highs and lows, a rhythmic flow, makes for a more meaningful, fun time in the grand scheme of it all.
Ingredients
3 heads of endive, leaves separated
1 large bulb of fennel with fronds reserved
1 pint, or 2 cups of strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup of shaved pecorino cheese
1/2 cup of raw pistachios, roughly chopped
1 tbsp Champagne vinegar or fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil + additional for drizzling
1 tsp raw honey
salt + pepper to season
1 tsp crushed pink peppercorns for garnish (if desired)
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, honey, and salt + pepper.
Slice the fennel bulb in half, remove the tough core, and thinly with a mandoline. Set aside a few sprigs of the feathery fronds for latter.
Add the sliced fennel, sliced strawberries, and spears of endive to the large bowl with the vinegar and oil, then lightly toss to evenly coat. Transfer the salad to a serving platter.
Top the salad with the shaved pecorino and chopped pistachios, then drizzle lightly with extra olive oil. Season with salt + pepper. Garnish with reserved fennel fronds, and crushed pink peppercorns if desired.
