Mom, the Lunch Lady

Mixed greens paired with a maple poached pear, blueberries, walnut crusted goat cheese and drizzled with a maple poppy seed dressing.


Years ago, my daughter and I went for lunch at a local restaurant near our house. I happened to see a wonderful salad that caught my eye. The description said it was served with a poached pear, blueberries and walnut crusted goat cheese. I knew right away that I had to try this salad. Ever since that day, I've been telling myself that I needed to recreate it, here at home.

 The crisp greens pair perfectly with the sweet and tart maple poppy seed dressing. The creamy goat cheese, is crusted with nutty golden walnuts, the blueberries are like sweet bursts of freshness and the tender sweet pear ties everything together. A beautifully elegant salad, this will make people think they are dinning in a 4 star restaurant.



Maple Poached Pear Salad with Walnut Crusted Goat Cheese

1- 5oz container of spring mix salad greens1 cucumber thinly sliced lengthwise (I use…

An addictive twist on poppyseed dressing!




Poppyseed dressing has always been one of my favourites. I love the contrast of the sweetness, tart bite of the apple cider vinegar and onion flavour. When I had strawberries I needed to use up, I decided to add them to my favourite dressing for a new twist.
With strawberry season right around the corner, this is a delicious way to use some of them.  I must say, this is an amazing dressing! It's sweet and tart, smooth and creamy, and it looks so pretty! I decided to serve it on a spinach salad, with additional fresh strawberries, feta cheese and pistachios. A-MA-ZING!




Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing
5 large strawberries, huled (about 1/2 C) 1/4 C yellow onion, chopped zest and juice of one clementine
1/4 C apple cider vinegar 2-3 Tbs honey (depending on how sweet your berries are) 1 Tbs honey Dijon mustard generous pinch of coarse sea salt fresh ground pepper 1/4- 1/3 C olive oil 1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
Place berries in a food processor, with…

Delicious Summer squash, is the star of this elegant summer salad.


 It's been a humid summer, the kind that makes you just want to melt in your seat. Most days I was scrambling to find meals that required little or no cooking. Then I remembered I had The No-Cook, No-Bake Cookbook, by Matt Kadey. I quickly found tons of recipes to try, none of them needing an ounce of heat from the stove, oven or grill. This cookbook is full of wonderful recipes, from breakfast to dessert. There were so many eye catching recipes I didn't know where to begin. I totally LOVE chickpeas, so I went with this recipe first.
This salad is a great way to use up your garden bounty. I know everyone will be harvesting tons of summer squash, zucchini and tomatoes and this salad highlights all of these favourite summer staples. I loved the crunchy, buttery, tart sweetness of this salad. I didn't have red wine vinegar, so I subbed in some Balsamic vinegar. Not only is this salad delicious, it's is stu…

A delicious twist on Spinach Salad.



This has to be my all time favorite salads. It has all of my favorite salad components. Nice fresh dark greens, tomatoes and cheese. Add the sweet Balsamic drizzle and I'm in heaven. I am very  fond of sweet dressing, on my salad. This is the perfect summer salad, and is elegant enough to serve at a dinner party.



Who would have ever thought that the tart Balsamic vinegar, could be turned into a thick sweet syrup like sauce. The deep flavor just pairs so nicely with the sweetness of the reduced vinegar. It balances out those bitter greens and just intensifies the sweet tomatoes. The salty mozzarella rounds out the flavors, leaving you with a symphony of flavors in your mouth.


Spinach Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Drizzle

1 bag of spinach, washed and dried 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise 4 bocconcini (fresh mozzarella balls), sliced to 1/4 inch slices 2 Tbs olive oil 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/4 tsp pepper 1/2 C Balsamic v…