Squash & Feta Spinach Salad

This past week my world traveler friend Cristy came and stayed with us on her way from Bali to Tonga, and we had the most wonderful few days.  Cristy is a mastermind chef so we took advantage of the fact that she was here and had a real kitchen to use, and made some delicious meals while she was here.  My personal favorite was her squash and feta spinach salad with balsamic dressing.  I am still dreaming about it and have had it at least three times this week.

In my cooking classes with Cristy, I've learned the art of cooking to taste rather than measuring, but here's the general recipe.  So delicious.

Squash and Feta Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
Spinach
Arugula
Squash (we used a kabocha squash)
Fresh sage
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Feta
Pine nuts
Fresh basil
Onion
Butter
Brown sugar
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic salt
Mustard
Honey
Chicken (optional)

1.  Boil the squash until cooked and cut into chunks.  Melt some butter in a frying pan and add olive oil and some freshly chopped sage, rosemary, and salt and pepper.  Add squash and saute.

2.  While the squash is boiling, you can make the dressing.  To be honest, Cristy worked her magic on this one, but I do know that she used mostly olive oil and balsamic vinegar - about twice as much oil than vinegar.  Add a hint of mustard, a little honey, and some garlic salt.  Then adjust to taste.

3.  If you'd like to add chicken to the salad, sear a chicken breast in a frying pan.  We then added some balsamic salad dressing and a hint of greek salad dressing and let the chicken simmer in that to make a glaze.

4.  Slice the onion into thin rings and fry in some butter in a frying pan.  Add brown sugar to caramelize the onions.

5.  Toast pine nuts lightly (optional)

5.  Put it all together!  Toss the spinach and arugula with the dressing, then top with the squash, pine nuts, caramelized onions, crumbled feta, and freshly chopped basil.  Enjoy!