Haaaa! After PROMISING to get my link in by the deadline, I failed to do it again. Just too damn busy on weekends. I was almost too busy last week to even do a local meal but decided to whip up a quick lunchtime salad after returning from the Waukesha Farmers’ Market on Saturday. Its kind of a rehash of the spinach salad I made for Week 1’s meal but its better than nothing. I still eat a lot of local foods during the week but trying to focus on one meal that is almost entirely comprised of local stuff, especially this early in the season, is more challenging than I expected.
Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
This is pretty simple. Make a vinaigrette with 1 part balsamic vinegar and 2 parts oil, some salt, some honey, and Penzey’s Country French Vinaigrette spice mix if you want. Mix vinaigrette with lettuces/arugula. Chop some washed strawberries up and drizzle with some balsamic, add to greens. Crumble some Goat Cheese on salad and that’s it.
I am really hooked on the SommHer Dairy Geiss Goat Cheese. Its pricey (like all good cheeses) and the only place I see it around Milwaukee is the Waukesha farmers’ market at the Farmhouse Bakery stand. According to the 2009 Wisconsin Artisan, Specialty, and Farmstead Dairy directory this cheese is made by Jay and Donna Sommer who milk 20 goats by hand at their farm in north central Wisconsin. Geiss is a soft/fresh Chèvre made in six flavors that won first place in its class at the 2008 American Dairy Goat Association Cheese competition. In addition to these cheeses, they have a Cheddar-type goat’s milk cheese called Somherset and a mixed milk (cow and goat) Parmesan-style cheese.
Local Products Used
Organic Spicy Greens Mix (Waukesha Farmers’ Market)
Fresh Strawberries (Waukesha Farmers’ Market)
SommHerr’s Geiss Goat Cheese (Farmhouse Bakery & Cheese ,Granton WI)
Honey Acres Buckwheat Honey (Ashippun, WI)
Eat Wisconsin 