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Strawberries, spinach
blend nicely in salad

Strawberries are still easy to find -- here's a way to use them in a salad combined with spinach.

The salad is served at Kona Brewing Co. restaurants in Kona and Hawaii Kai, where it offers a touch of femininity in the masculine brewery environment.

Ellen Elgin of San Diego, Calif., enjoyed the salad during a visit to the Kona restaurant, and pronounced it "incredibly refreshing and delicious. The vinaigrette was unforgettable and perfect for the salad."

The salad is a take on a spinach salad with walnuts -- with pungent gorgonzola cheese crumbles and macadamia nuts standing in for the walnuts. Slices of strawberry provide a sweet bit of contrast.

The vinaigrette is made with 2 cups of strawberries, blended up with the oil and vinegar.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

16 ounces washed, fresh spinach leaves
5 ounces sliced Maui onion
2/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/3 cup diced roasted macadamia nuts
10 to 12 sliced strawberries
» Strawberry Vinaigrette
2 cups strawberries
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups olive or substitute canola oil
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

To make vinaigrette: Blend strawberries, vinegar and sugar except oil. When mixture is smooth, slowly add the oil, continuing to blend until mixture is well-incorporated. Stir in sesame seeds. Makes 1 quart.

Mound the spinach in a medium-sized salad bowl, top with Maui onions. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and nuts. Place strawberries over top. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (using 2 tablespoons dressing per serving): 540 calories, 51 g total fat, 11 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 11 g sugar, 10 g protein.

Can you help?

Two readers have written in for recipes that they swear they cut out of the newspaper once upon a time, but can no longer find. I've been unable to locate them, but perhaps someone has an old clipping?

» Danie McReynolds is looking for an apple cake recipe "from eons ago" provided by a former first lady -- could have been Vicky Cayetano or Lynne Waihee.

» Bev Waggener is looking for a recipe that was called simply the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. "I loved the recipe but have since moved and lost the recipe." She says the cookie dough was frozen before baking.