cali in a bowl

perfect for summer

This salad is inspired by Californian fruits and the very popular creamy poppy seed dressing.  I couldn't find poppy seeds in my grocery run today so I substituted with black sesame seeds.  It added the same texture as poppy seeds would and you wouldn't even know the difference because the flavour is so mild.  We will definitely be making this salad all summer long - it'll be even better when the local strawberries are available.

what you need:

for vinaigrette

• 1 lemon (juice and zest finely grated)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• freshly ground black pepper, pinch of salt
• 1/2 shallot
• 1 heaping tbsp poppy seeds or black sesame seeds

• 1 avocado
• baby spinach 
• 1 mandarin orange
• 8-10 strawberries

what to do:

1. Blend all vinaigrette ingredients (except for seeds) together until smooth.  Add seeds.  Store in a mason jar in the fridge.
2. Prepare strawberries by washing, removing tops and slicing into bite size pieces.  
3. Prepare mandarin orange by peeling and removing extra bits of white pith.  Break into individual wedges and cut them in half.  This might seem like an extra step but it's worth it to remove any unwanted seeds and also allow the orange juices to flow into the salad.
4. Toss strawberries and oranges slices together in a salad bowl.  When ready to serve, toss with desired amount of baby spinach and vinaigrette (unused portion of the vinaigrette can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days).  Top salad with slices of avocado.  Enjoy!

tonight we had our cali salad with tilapia & ginger pickled radish