POPPY SEED DRESSING RECIPE (...AND DREAMING OF SUMMER)

Hello, all!  Hope everyone is well and keeping warm.  We've been having a cold snap here in Winnipeg and it's been a tad chilly out.  I'm staying in where it's warm and dreaming of summer (or at least, dreaming of a time when I don't have to wear long johns)!  I thought I'd share this recipe with all of you, since I was making it for me and Kevin, and it's kind of a summer-y salad recipe.  I know, it's not very seasonally appropriate but it reminds me of summer so I thought perhaps we could all use a reminder of warmer days.  I'm doing my best to eat more fruits and vegetables, as my eating habits have really been terrible for the last little while.  And by "last little while" I really mean for the last 10-12 months.  Honestly.  I have been eating junk food and not cooking real meals, but now I'm slowly but surely making some changes to try to bring some healthy eating habits back into my life.  I was at my Mom's house for supper a few weeks ago and she made this salad with this homemade dressing and it was SO tasty!  It's really just a recipe for a really good poppy seed dressing.  You can pretty much put it on whatever salad fixing you like, but I'll list here what I used for my salad.  My Mom just had this recipe written on a little index card, and she can't even remember who wrote it down for her.  So, we're really not sure where this recipe came from but it is super-duper delicious!!!!

Poppy Seed Dressing:

• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup salad oil (I used canola oil but you can use mazola oil, if you prefer)
• 1.5 tablespoon poppy seeds

Place all ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk/stir well and ensure all ingredients are well combined.  I used a fork to whisk my mixture.  This recipe makes quite a lot of dressing, so perhaps even making a half batch would do.  The recipe card my mom had said that this dressing keeps indefinitely if stored in the fridge.  If you do make the full recipe you can always refridgerate the unused portion to keep on hand for another day.  Trust me when I say that you WILL want to eat this again, so making a big batch is always good!

For my salad fixings I used:

• Butter lettuce
• Toasted sliced almonds (that I toasted in a pan on the stove, and of course, slightly burned)
• Sliced strawberries

I just put my lettuce, almonds and berries in a bowl, topped with dressing, tossed ingredients and chowed down!!!!

I think some other good alternatives to use with this dressing would be:

• Romane lettuce
• Baby spinach
• Mixed greens
• Sliced kiwis and/or mandarin oranges (add these with the strawberries - yum!)
• Toasted pine nuts  

I hope perhaps this post added a little bit of summer to your winter day!  And if you like a good salad recipe then I highly recommend this one - you won't be disappointed!!!!