Strawberry Spinach Salad

A very yummy salad and perfect now with strawberries being cheap at the stores. It's from the Taste of Home's Mom's Best Meals magazine (Dec 1, 2008). Adjust the sugar as needed.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

1/3 cup raspberry vinaigrette
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 package (10 oz) fresh baby spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

In a blender, combine the vinaigrette, sugar, salt and mustard. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Stir in p9oppy seeds. Transfer to a small pitcher or bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.

Just before serving, toss the spinach, strawberries and pecans in a large salad bowl. Serve with the dressing. Yield 8 servings

Rhubard Time & Recipe

It's rhubarb time once more and the many recipes that show up using said tart fruit have been dribbling in. Got this recipe from the Star Tribune. The sauce is a tad short on sweetener, but the almond pound cake is to die for. It is so flavorful! Because recipes tend to disappear from newspapers, I am posting it here rather than linking it. This recipe appeared in the Taste Section of the Star Tribune on March 24, 2010.

Almond Cake With Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

Makes 1 tube cake (20 servings).

Note: Almond paste comes in a tube, in the baking section of supermarkets. It's not critical to the recipe and can be omitted, but it will add an extra layer of almond flavor (if you don't use it, lessen the milk by 2 tablespoons). The cake can be made up to a day in advance, or longer if frozen. Adapted from "Come One, Come All/ Easy Entertaining With Seasonal Menus," by Lee Svitak Dean.

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
7 oz. (3/4 c. ) almond paste (see Note)
2 c. sugar
6 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 tbsp. almond extract
Powdered sugar
Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and almond paste thoroughly. Add sugar slowly and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder thoroughly.

In a cup or small bowl, combine milk and almond extract.

Add one-third of flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir gently but thoroughly; add one-third of milk mixture and stir gently but thoroughly. Continue to add flour mixture and milk alternately until all has been incorporated into the batter.

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gently fold into batter thoroughly.

Spoon into well-greased, 10-cup tube pan (an angel food cake pan or Bundt pan) or in 2 loaf pans. Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes (slightly less for loaf pans), or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Loosen cake gently around rim and tube. Cool completely before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

Makes about 2 cups.

Note: Make this the same day it is served for the best color and texture. Zest is the colored part of the skin on citrus fruit (not the white pith, which is bitter). Don't like rhubarb? Just use strawberries.

2 c. (1 pint) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 c. sugar
2 c. chopped (1/4 -in. pieces) rhubarb (2 large stalks), fresh or frozen
Juice and zest from 1 orange (about 1/4 c. orange juice and 1 tbsp. orange zest)

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss sliced strawberries with sugar; set aside. In a medium pot, combine rhubarb and orange juice and, over low heat, bring to a simmer. Cook rhubarb until barely soft, about 5 minutes -- do not overcook or the color turns gray. (Or cook in a microwave.) Set aside to cool slightly. Add cooled rhubarb to strawberries and toss with orange zest. Serve over cake or ice cream.