Spinach Salad with Dressing Options

This is one of our favourite salads, with three very different dressing options:

Baby spinach
Chopped celery
Chopped green onion
Sliced strawberries
Candied pecans ***
Goat cheese

Optional:
Bacon bits
Chopped avocado

When ready to serve, coat the spinach with a bit of dressing, and then add the remaining ingredients.

***To “candy” pecans:
In a small sauce pan, place desired number of pecans (they will keep, so you can do extras if you want). Add enough sugar to coat them (at this point, the sugar will not stick, but as you cook them, it will). If you like spice, you could add a dash of cayenne pepper along with the sugar … But I just do them plain.
Stir, constantly, over medium-high heat until the sugar melts, and coats the pecans. This whole process only takes a few short minutes, and they will burn easily, so keep an eye on them!
When done, remove from the heat immediately, and dump them into a small bowl to cool (if they stay in the pot, they will keep cooking). Break them up with your fingers, and cool.
(very carefully, put hot water into the empty saucepan – it splatters at first, so do this slowly! Soak for just a few minutes, and the candy coating will slip right off 🙂 ).

Dressing options:
(the Poppyseed and Sweet & Sour are sweet dressings; the Balsamic, more “sophistocated”)

Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing

Poppyseed:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 cup orange juice
Poppyseeds (up to a Tbsp)

Combine together well.
Use only as much as needed to coat the spinach.
Store remainder in the fridge & shake before using again.

Balsamic:
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Up to 1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp sugar (or, to taste)

Combine together, well.