Yes please to strawberries and feta cheese: a simple salad recipe

This post is the first installment of my "college student with basic food abilities attempts to cook as she begins her 20s" series.

I am by no means a chef or food expert, so I promised myself that during this school year (and beyond), I would do more grocery shopping and learn how to prepare a variety of foods.  No more relying solely - solely being a key word -on pasta, sandwiches and eggs to be my main form of sustenance - though there's nothing wrong with those foods. It just gets tiresome eating variations of them every single day.

Now that I finally have my car with me, frequent trips to the grocery store are now possible. I've been to Food 4 Less (among other markets) at least twice a week for the last three weeks. Pretty awesome.

In light of this, I recently asked my cousin to provide me with the ingredients for her mom's strawberry and feta cheese salad. She often makes this salad for family parties and when she does, I eat at least 10 bowls of it.

Not even exaggerating. I mean, look at it -- how can you not want to devour this?

Strawberry and feta cheese salad.

I enjoy eating all kinds of salad (I'm a fruit and veggie person), but this is definitely one of my favorites. The strawberries add sweetness, the greens add that healthy crunch and the balsamic vinaigrette adds another rich flavor without overpowering the other tastes. A similar statement can be made about oriental chicken salad, but I have yet to make that one from scratch.

I thought I'd share this really simple recipe in case anyone who wants to try it.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• greens of your choice - I simply used Romaine lettuce and a bit of cilantro
• strawberries
• crumbled feta cheese
• cherry tomatoes (though as you see, there are no tomatoes in the picture because as much as I love them, I do not enjoy eating them in my salads)
• balsamic vinaigrette (or vinegar)
• large bowl
• chopping board
• knife
• tongs/salad mixer
• fork or spoon (optional, if you don't mind touching cheese)

Simple ingredients, delicious meal.

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Gather all your materials. (Obviously.)
2. Thoroughly rinse your fruits and vegetables.
3. Cut the lettuce into smaller pieces. I simply ripped the pieces with my clean hands but you can cut them on a chopping board if you're fancy. Place into salad bowl.
4. Cut other vegetables you plan on using in your salad. For me, that meant a few leaves of cilantro. Place into bowl.
5. Slice strawberries and place into bowl.
6. Toss salad with tongs and attempt to evenly distribute fruits and vegetables. I say "attempt" because my poor strawberries kept sinking to the bottom of my bowl.
7. Afterwards, use a fork, spoon or your hand to sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on the salad.
8. Toss the salad again before repeating step 6.
9. Repeat step 7.
10. Wa-la!

This flavorful salad only takes about 15-20 minutes to prepare. I hope anyone who might try this enjoys this quick and healthy meal!

A quick and easy-to-make meal!

I know I didn't have to actually touch the stove or oven, but I'm happy I took the time to make a salad from scratch instead of buying one or purchasing a prepared bag.

What are your favorite simple meals? Any other salad recipe suggestions? Perhaps I will attempt a recommendation in the future!