Strawberry, Beef & Quinoa Salad

I have this friend who doesn’t like leftovers. She thinks they’re disgusting and should be banished to the dog’s bowl or the trash bin. She won’t take food home from restaurants and balks when her parents try to feed her extra pasta from the night before. If I’m not mistaken, she won’t even eat meat that has been previously frozen. Leftovers have a very unique place in my house. No one really complains about eating them once the next day, but anything beyond that is a hassle. My mom goes around actively suggesting that we eat them for lunch or dinner, dropping hints as we forage through the fridge. Sometimes she’ll put them out onto the counter–a not so subtle reminder of their existence. She’s relentless, isn’t she?

I fully admit that while leftovers do serve a purpose during busy times, I get kind of sick of them and quickly. To combat this, I try to think of creative and different ways to eat them so I don’t feel like I’m eating the same thing three days in a row. That’s where this salad comes in. The leftover in this salad is the beef–the residuals of roasted tri tip from last night’s dinner. The glut of strawberries currently residing in the fridge made me think of the spinach and strawberry salads that have become more common recently. I don’t like common, but I do like good. This is a warm salad–with wilted spinach, basil, quinoa, red onion, beef, strawberries and lots of cracked pepper. I wish I had some goat cheese, but it was still delicious without it. However, I think that in the future all spinach and strawberry salads should be served warm–the softness and sweetness of the strawberries improve the flavor exponentially.

Before we move on, I would like to let you know that this was one of those posts whereeverything preceding it seemed to go slightly wrong. The tri tip was pulled from the barbecue too early despite an instant-read thermometer’s declaration otherwise. My quinoa, albeit easily fixed, was too soggy. And then. Then I decided I was going to make a basil vinaigrette. Let’s just say that unless you’re making a large quantity of said dressing, use dried basil. Why? Trying to puree a few tablespoons of dressing made up of fresh basil, olive oil and red wine vinegar doesn’t really work. You will end up with soggy pieces of basil in green liquid. Yuck. To top this all off, my camera settings were mysteriously altered and, when combined with the crappy lighting my house so wonderfully boasts, I got one decent photo and I don’t even like it. I need a cookie.

For One

2 cups spinach leaves
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
3 oz. beef, cooked & thinly sliced*
1/2 cup strawberries, hulled & sliced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
4 basil leaves, chopped
cracked pepper

*Beef should be seasoned liberally with salt and pepper and cooked to desired doneness.

Heat large sautee pan to medium. Throw in spinach and stir around for 3 minutes to begin wilting. Toss in strawberries, red onion and quinoa. If beef is not warm, toss that in too, otherwise keep to the side so you don’t overcook. When spinach is wilted and other items have been warmed, remove from heat. Toss in basil and beef and top with lots of black pepper.

Dressing Suggestions: Balsamic vinegar or 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 tsp. red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. pepper flakes. Or whatever else you think sounds good.