Strawberry-spinach salad

I love this salad in the spring time, but this year I found this dressing and it is such a perfect compliment. I have been using toasted walnuts instead of almonds and they are so yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 10 ounces fresh spinach- rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before ser

Balsamic Vinaigrette

I have been making my own salad dressing for a while now, but the other day, I was out of half of the herbs that I needed to make the german salad dressing, so I tried out a new recipe. It is now my favorite. So delicious:

Back-to-Basics Balsamic Vinaigrette

MAKES 2/3 CUP

From “Eat, Drink & Be Vegan”

¼ c. balsamic vinegar (see note*)

3 tbsp. pure maple syrup or agave nectar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. (rounded) sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 small clove garlic (optional)

3½4 tbsp. walnut oil (see note*) (I used olive oil)

With a hand blender or in a blender, combine all ingredients except oil

and puree. Continue blending while slowly adding oil until emulsified.

Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Other flavorful vinegars can be substituted for the balsamic, including white balsamic, red wine, or sherry vinegar.

Instead of walnut oil, try olive oil or a combination of both, with a touch of wasted sesame oil.

I just realized that I never posted the recipe for the German Salad Dressing on this blog, so here it is:

German Salad Dressing
1 c. cider vinegar
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 T. onion salt
1 T. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. rosemary (crushed)
1/4 T. basil
1/2 tsp. dill
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. fresh orange juice
Blend in blender

You can blend it with mayo for a creamy salad dressing. I double the recipe and use half for a vinaigrette and the other half mixed with mayo. It's very good on just about anything.

I started experimenting with this because it has so much sugar in it, so I now make it by doubling all of the ingredients, except for the vinegar and sugar.  I only use half the amount of vinegar and then I replace the sugar with honey (about half or so, but I do it to taste).  It's really great on salads, but also on pasta.  This is now a staple in my home to replace ranch dressing.  My kids love it and call it ranch.