April 02, 2025

Hello Foodie Friends

I'm feeling a bit "salady" lately with all of the Spring veggies now coming into season. Especially because you can now get everything so conveniently packaged to go for quick prepping. Go ahead and try some of those lettuce varieties you've been wondering about. My new favorite snack item (although not so cheap) is a bag of crunchy sugar snap peas for munching on and also adding to salads...not the flat snow peas which are better for stir frying. Those are so good and really sweet for a junk food alternative. Here is a very SPRINGY SALAD with a homemade sweet dressing to enjoy with your greens.

Enjoy!
Marzee
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SPRINGTIME SALAD

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
6 C mixed fresh greens; rinsed, dried and town into pieces
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C roasted sliced almonds
1/2 C gorgonzola cheese; crumbled
12 large grapefruit sections
4 large fresh strawberries; rinsed and sliced

DIRECTIONS:
Place 1 1/2 cups of the mixed greens on each salad plate.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of each of the next four ingredients
on top of the greens. Arrange 3 of the grapefruit sections
in a spiral on top of the greens and fan 1 sliced strawberry
in the center of the grapefruit sections. Serve with the
following dressing.

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons ground mustard
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup chopped white onion
2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS:
In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, ground mustard, salt, rice vinegar, and onion. With the motor on, slowly add vegetable oil in a slow, steady stream; whirling until dressing is smooth and has a creamy texture. Add poppy seeds and blend thoroughly. Store, covered, in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Makes approximately 3 cups dressing.

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS According to scientists from Tokyo, people who added this secret ingredient to their morning coffee over 12 weeks lost a whopping 690% more belly fat than those who didn't...

MARZEE's CORNER

PREPARATION TIPS FOR YOUR GREENS:

Buying: The more delicate the greens, the more perishable they are, so its best to buy them the same day you plan to use them, or at most, the day before. Choose greens with firm, uniform- colored leaves, with no wilted or discolored ones.

Rinsing: Green leafy vegetables grow close to sandy soil, which tends to cling to the leaves. Nothing ruins a good dish like a mouthful of sand, so do wash leaves very carefully. Immersing them in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes before rinsing helps to loosen hidden grit.

Stemming and chopping: You can leave stems on small greens such as baby spinach, watercress and arugula, or remove them it’s up to you—and they need not be chopped at all. Regular spinach is better stemmed and can be roughly torn or shredded into bite-sized pieces or chopped once it has been steamed.