Spinach, strawberries, goat cheese, and blueberries from the market meet candied walnuts and a pomegranate vinaigrette in a little twist to the standard berries and spinach salad recipe. I can’t seem to bring myself to mess around with the perfection of the local produce, but I did fancy-up the nuts and dressing.
Candied Walnuts
1 egg white whipped into a froth
3 tbs brown sugar
The following are to taste-do you like spicy salty with the sweet of the brown sugar
a pinch of chipotle pepper powder
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of smoked salt or salt
8 oz walnuts
Mix the sugar and spices into the egg white and then fold in the walnuts
Spread mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 325 oven for about 10-15 mins. turn over the hardening mixture to brown the other side. Watch closely until nicely browned 10 mins or so. As these cool break apart and toss on salad or eat as a snack.
The nice POM people sent me a case of juice to play with. Unfortunately the teens didn’t get the memo and drank all of it but this one lonely bottle. I made a vinaigrette with some of it and then mixed the rest with half a bottle of red wine and 1/2 cup of mango lemonade, added some orange slices, strawberries and ice cubes and called it Sangria. I guess I feel the same way about the POM juice as I do about the local produce:I can’t bear to expose it to heat and lose all the lovely antioxidants, so I keep it as close to natural as I can. Drinking it straight is probably the best use for two celiac teens who have spent most of their lives undernourished and Sangria for the mom who traveled that journey with them seems only fitting.
I thought I’d share some of the weeks successes. Stir Fry with peas from the market.
The second attempt at rolling Spring Rolls. Much better this time.
Freezer jam made with the strawberries from the farmers’ market.
Santa Cruz Mango Lemonade and Reed’s Ginger Brew with strawberry garnish. YUM.
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Everything looks great, but I loooove the salad. Funny, I've never thought to add blueberries to a spinach salad. I need to try those walnuts, too. The goat cheese….It all looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
I like the use of chipotle and cinnamon together on the nuts to pair with the fruit. Very creative! Thank you for sharing this on Friday Foodie Fix.
Thank you Heather. Your berry salad looked wonderful, too.
Diane-The original recipe came from Fine Cooking. I purged all my old magazines thinking I could get the recipes from their web site. You have to register and pay and I just went from memory and added the chipotle and smoked salt because I'm on a chipotle and smoked salt jag right now. Thanks for coming up with Friday Foodie Fix. Always fun to do this.
I've been getting tons of spinach from CSA and I've been seeing so many great ideas for its use lately. This looks very yummy!! I love putting fruit on my salads, it adds just the right hint of sweet.