The things I learned about pomegranate while tossing this Pear Harvest Salad

We fell in love with this Pear Harvest Salad, although the addition of pomegranate seeds in the recipe at first gave me pause. Hubby helped me remove the seeds from the pomegranate. I know pomegranate is BIG right now; it’s said to have antioxidant health benefits and be effective against heart disease and hypertension. I surely didn’t want to leave it out and miss those possible plusses.

I simply couldn’t see how those seeds were going to work in a salad. They looked as if they were the sort of things that would immediately get stuck in your teeth and detract.

When I tossed them in—reluctantly—and bit into my first seed as part of the mix, it unleashed a tiny burst of pomegranate juice that was the perfect tart/sweet addition to the salad. The seed casing then seemed to dissolve in my mouth. I’m pleased to report that not one seed got stuck. I don’t think this salad would be nearly as delicious without it. (Plus the skin from the seeds is thought to add fiber to the diet.)

The recipe called for 4 cups cubed turkey breast, but as I do with many recipes, I subbed cooked chicken breast, which I’m more likely to have on hand. We loved the pear/avocado combo and the topping of blue cheese and honey-roasted sliced almonds. The cider vinegar/honey/Dijon mustard dressing was wonderful.

This would be a scene-stealer salad at a bring-a-dish event or merely one your family will enjoy down to the last morsel in the bowl.

Pear Harvest Salad

2 packages (5-ounces each) spring mix salad greens

4 cups cubed cooked turkey breast (I used chicken breast)

2 medium pears, sliced

1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:

6 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Topping:

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup honey-roasted sliced almonds

Divide spring mix among six plates. (I merely put my spring mix in a big salad bowl and tossed all ingredients together instead of dividing the mix.) Layer with turkey, pears, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and onion. Whisk the dressing ingredients; drizzle over salad. Sprinkle with cheese and almonds. Makes 6 servings. (Recipe source: Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards)

Beautiful first-course salad for Christmas (or anytime) meal makes great impression

Don’t let the recipe title fool you. This salad can be the “Taste-of” whatever season in which you desire to serve it—a perfectly beautiful Christmas salad for the first course of a holiday meal; an Easter menu item; or a cooling, refreshing summer buffet number. Take your pick—but this recipe, named Taste-of-Fall Salad, is a winner.

The toasted pecan halves that have been bathed in a balsamic vinegar wash and seasoned with cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and sugar (or sugar substitute) make a flavorful, crunchy topping. The simple oil-and-Dijon mustard dressing is terrific; shredded Parmesan is dusted on the greens; thinly sliced pears, of course, represent the key ingredient.

The recipe hailed from my Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards, which suggested it for the Thanksgiving table. I’m still mining them for ideas that seem to work just as well pre-Christmas as they did for the previous holiday. This salad is a beauty, for sure.

Taste-of-Fall Salad

2/3 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, divided

dash cayenne pepper

dash ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute), divided

1 package (5 ounces) spring mix salad greens (I used fresh spinach)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 medium pear, thinly sliced

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large, heavy skillet cook the pecans, 2 tablespoons vinegar, cayenne, and cinnamon over medium heat until nuts are toasted, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cook and stir for 2-4 minutes or until sugar is melted. Spread nuts on foil to cool. Place salad greens in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk oil, mustard, salt, and remaining vinegar and sugar; drizzle over greens and toss to coat. Arrange the greens, pear slices, and pecans on six salad plates. Sprinkle top of salad with cheese. Makes 6 servings.

A salad so splendid, it instantly nets "Thanksgiving-worthy" label

“Thanksgiving-worthy!” That was the pronouncement of both Hubby and me when we began sampling Apple-Pear Salad with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing, a new dish I’d put on the table to go with our Turnip Green Stew from a few days back.

After you take a few bites of this combination, you’ll think you’ve been transported to the most elegant multi-fork restaurant on the planet. This truly was one of the best salads I’ve sampled in a long, long time. That’s why we immediately assigned the recipe to accompany the holiday bird—one menu item that I can say without a doubt will be found on our Thanksgiving dining table.

Thinly sliced apples and pears are tossed with dried cranberries and romaine (I subbed with spinach for the greens). A smattering of cashews (what recipe can go wrong if it has cashews in it?) and shredded Swiss cheese are added. The Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing is divine and makes enough to be stored and be poured over additional salads.

The instructions, furnished by myrecipes.com and listed as springing from a March 2007 Southern Living issue, state that some grilled chicken could be added to transform this salad into a main course.

Thanksgiving, we’re marching toward ya! Only 20 more cooking days left until that dinner of dinners! Gotta get busy.

Apple-Pear Salad with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing

1 (16-ounce) package romaine lettuce, thoroughly washed (I used spinach pieces)

1 (6-ounce) block Swiss cheese, shaved

1 cup roasted, salted cashews (I used unsalted)

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1 large apple, thinly sliced

1 large pear, thinly sliced

In a salad bowl toss together all ingredients. Serve with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe follows). Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing:

2/3 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 teaspoons finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Process 2/3 cup light olive oil and remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week; serve at room temperature. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

This Friendly Puppy salad brings smiles to kids of all ages

My son’s request for fried okra on his Dream Birthday Dinner menu went afoul. As much as I desired to serve him heaping helpings of this Southern delicacy, dipped in egg and cornmeal batter and golden-fried to perfection, the local produce departments of supermarkets at which I shopped didn’t help me out.

In one place no okra was to be found at all. In another place the small handful of okra that was available was $4.29 per pound and looked as though it was about to sprout fungus at any second. Possibly this was occurring because we were away from the part of the U.S. in which okra is king. In the Western region, in which our son lives, okra isn’t exactly everyone’s first-choice veggie.

The designated hour for our guests to arrive fast approached. Hubby encouraged me to try no more stores and reminded me that before too many months we’d be fighting off the okra “trees” that take over our backyard garden in the summer, so we could have our fill of it then.

Since I had to make an emergency switch-out, I opted for "Friendly Puppy” Salad. Part of our party decor was a terra-cotta pot that had been handpainted with a Snoopy dog on it as a centerpiece for our son’s third birthday when he was a child. All these years I had saved it; now for his 35th I was using it as the base for a balloon bouquet. The Friendly Puppy with his doleful eyes (made from raisins) and his floppy ears (made from prunes) would fit with this party theme.

Wish I’d had time to peel fresh pears for the occasion, but since the moments sped by, I drained pear halves from a can, rinsed them, and plopped each on a spinach-lined salad plate. Onto each pear went the raisin, the prune, orange sections for the dog’s collar, and a cherry for his nose. This made a very healthy substitution—one that the kids in the audience (grown kids as well as the munchkin variety) would find appealing.

Maybe on his next Texas visit, when the garden is up and running (and over-running) with this Southern staple, our son can drop in for some fried okra. Meanwhile the healthful Friendly Puppy brought smiles and made a great substitution.

Friendly Puppy Salad

4 pear halves (fresh, peeled pears are preferred, although canned, drained pears can be used)

dried, seedless raisins

oranges (fresh orange sections are preferred, although canned, drained Mandarin orange pieces

can be subbed)

cherries (fresh cherries are preferred if in season, although jarred, drained cherries can be subbed)

dried prunes

spinach leaves

Arrange these items as described above and as illustrated in the photo. Chill before serving.

Power-food spinach gets dressed up with pears, berries, and nuts for an amazing fall salad

I just read of an online poll asking people whether they've reached the point in which they can tolerate fruit in their green salads or whether they're still "veggies-only" when they toss their greens.

I wasn't aware that this was an issue for folks. I grew up on traditional salads of lettuce, tomato, and French dressing (did any other kinds exist in the '50s?), but to me, nothing's better than a tasty combination of spinach, fruit, and nuts, tossed with a tangy vinaigrette. And now that we've been advised of the major health benefits of eating dark greens, I've subbed spinach for lettuce anywhere I can, including on my (turkey) burgers.

That's why I'm here to tell you about one of the greatest spinach/fruit/nut/vinaigrette salads I've tried in an age. The addition of pears in this salad is absolutely terrific. And talk about healthy--wow! this is a winner in the health category, for sure.

Spinach thrives in cool weather, so local spinach is the most flavorful and affordable in September and October. Spinach is a power-house because it's loaded with vitamins, antioxidants, and essential nutrients. It's said to be one of the healthiest foods in the world; it tops most other vegetables. Only 1/2 cup cooked spinach meets the daily requirements for vitamins A and K, according to my chart in "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest."

I have Prevention magazine to thank for this wonderful recipe--actually one of three (you'll likely be seeing the other two soon) that ran alongside its power-food-of-the-month feature--this time on spinach.

Fruity Fall Salad

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups baby spinach

1 pear, peeled, cored, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

In a large bowl whisk oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add spinach, pear, cranberries, walnuts, and onion and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.