The end of June is a great time to pick strawberries in New England.  These berries are ripe and prevalent at this time of year.  On a recent weekend morning, my children and I went to a local pick your own farm and in less than 30 minutes had harvested five pounds of sweet, ripe strawberries.

Upon bringing these berries home, I knew I wanted to use them in a new recipe.  Having used strawberries in many of the typical recipes:  shortcake, jam, fruit salad, sauce for ice cream or waffles, I wanted to make something different.  With the heat of summer upon us, I also wanted a recipe that was simple, light, and required no cooking.  After perusing several recipes, I took a few ideas, added a few of my own, and arrived at this recipe.

This recipe accentuates the sweetness of the strawberries in contrast with the mesclun and goat cheese.  Not only does the salad have a wide range of tastes and textures, it is also visually appealing.  The contrast of bright red strawberries, white goat cheese, and varying greens of mesclun make for a beautiful presentation.  This salad would be a wonderful part of a collection of romantic dinner recipes.