Strawberries and Gouda Goat Cheese Salad and Thoughts on Food

didn't even know Ohio was shaped like a heart till recently :P

When I first discovered that my husband was from Ohio, I had no idea what Ohio looked like. I imagined miles upon miles of cornfields, farms, and very rural landscapes, as well as people with country accents. When I moved here, many of my friends thought the same thing. What I discovered in Ohio were very friendly people, a relaxed lifestyle, and most of all, an easy to navigate and pretty incredible food scene. Maybe it's the novelty of being in a new place, but I have started to become very interested in the farmer's markets around Columbus, as well as the local fruit stands and brand-name stores like Whole Foods.

North Market, the foodie heaven of Columbus

North Market is a huge factory cum farmer's market/foodie heaven. Yesterday I took my friend there, and she was amazed. There's something awesome about taking very curious people to a place that you've frequented often--you start to see it with new eyes. She bought lots of things, namely ground Bison meat, dark chocolate, and hibiscus powder from the spice shop. We went to the Curds and Whey cheese kiosk and decided to try all of the weirdest cheeses, from caramel-colored cheese to a super pungent cheese that made me shiver after I ate it. After we felt our sample quota starting to run out we settled on a delicious creamy goat gouda. 

Curds and Whey with owner of 25 years, Mike

And I started to realize even more how North Market has some of the most interesting foods, things you couldn't get at your normal grocery store, and that you're supporting local grocers, people who have made finding the best cheese their goal in life, and there they are, every week, just for you. I thought nothing could top Berkeley, or California's farmer's markets, or Berkeley Bowl, etc...and I still think Berkeley wins in foodie-ship, but the best thing about North Market is that it's open every week! It doesn't come and go like a farmer's market does (though I do love those too, because they are seasonal and that makes everything even more precious). 

Not only does Columbus have North Market, they have cute little fruit farms that are only 30 minutes to an hour away (I used to have to travel an hour or two in california!) and provide an authentic tractor ride and fruit picking experience for you. Today I picked strawberries with a friend at Doran's Farm Market! This was my first time, so it made it even more fun. And at $8 for 2 lbs of fresh strawberries, a pound of green beans and some snap peas, I think it's definitely a steal!

mm small and sweet <3

I used the gouda goat cheese I bought from North Market and my fresh strawberries from Doran's to throw together a simple summer salad. The olives and lettuce were already a salad from yesterday so I just threw in the other ingredients and some olive oil mixed with sweet rice vinegar.

munching salad by the window

The sweet strawberries perfectly complimented the creamy and tangy goat gouda. In short, I felt like a sunkissed organic hippy child thriving on the best produce of my neigbor's farm. His farm of strawberries and goats. The only thing I didn't have, which I would have substituted for the olive oil vinegar dressing is a good homemade poppyseed dressing. I found a good recipe for the dressing here or I like Brianna's poppyseed dressing. I like salads because you can throw together a couple of your favorite fruits and vegis with your favorite dressing and more likely than not, it'll taste good.

Strawberry Goat Gouda Salad 

Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce, or spinach
• 5-6 ripe strawberries, or as much as you'd like!
• several slices of Gouda goat cheese (can buy from whole foods or specialty cheese shop)
• olives (optional)

1. Tear Romaine lettuce into bite size pieces. Cut up strawberries into thin slices or leave whole if they are small. 

2. Toss lettuce and strawberries in a salad bowl and top with poppyseed dressing. Slice up thin slices of the goat gouda and place on top of salad.

3. Enjoy!

From my happy tummy to yours, 

Kaori <3