The Ultimate Dessert Salad--Mixed Balsamic Berries with Lemon Sorbet

A guest post by Finn the Cooking Assistant (aka the dog picker)

A salad is whatever you make it

The long story made short is I spent hours drooling over my post, with connections to this farm and this one and I even mentioned this great home delivery service that you simply have to try if you have a canine friend at home.   Then someone deleted the entire post.  I'm not saying who the guilty party is, but you might guess by Chloe's look of shock and the stink eye, I'm flashing at the photographer in this photo.  

I'll just nibble a few of these berries to soothe my frayed nerves.  

I'm working on a piece of art here, and Management doesn't seem to get it.  I am  a model!  Am I just barking to the wind???

And now we must move on to another project.  At least you get the recipe.  And the good news is, the recipe is delicious. I mean, really how could you possibly go wrong with berries?  Unless they're moldy.  Which brings me to a couple essential tips for selection and storage:

• Use berries the day you buy them or freeze for future use.  Never buy berries in big buckets because they crush easily and once one is moldy it quickly spreads to the other berries, even if you don't see it, mold spores probably contaminated them.

• Extend the life of strawberries by placing only good ones in a single layer in a Tupperware.  Put a paper towel over the top, then add another layer of berries.  Seal the Tupperware and they should last a few days.

• Freeze most organic berries from farms you know in the containers they're packed in.  When frozen solid use a Food Saver to seal and extend their life in the freezer.  Make sure the berries are frozen before sealing or you will have berry juice.  For strawberries: remove stems and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet to freeze.

  We got mulberries from Grouse Mountain Farm, raspberries from Hayton Farms and the anise hyssop comes from Let Us Farm.  Oh how I'd love to live on a farm if only for one day.

The Ultimate Berry Salad 

3 to 4 cups fresh berries (use your favorites, but include a few soft berries such as strawberries or boysenberries)

1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar or berry dessert wine

A sprinkling of sugar or drizzle of honey

1 tablespoon anise hyssop or fresh basil finely chopped

A dusting of grated coconut

Lemon sorbet

Combine all ingredients except coconut.  Refrigerate for one hour.  Sprinkle coconut over the top and serve over lemon sorbet.

I'll return next week with more neighborhood tales.  In the meantime check out my new tatoo collar.  Have a great week!!