Hi everyone! I’m pretty excited. I ordered some reusable linen bags for bulk foods and some zero-waste washable sponges from Etsy! If only I could get Mr. FBBQ on the Reduce/Reuse/Recycle bandwagon. I do have him recycling sometimes. Which is more than he did when we first met. Baby steps, right?
Today’s salad turned out absolutely, amazingly delicious! It’s the perfect fall salad (even though it’s almost winter).
We need quite a few ingredients for this fall favorite.  For the candied pumpkin seeds (pepitas) we will need some honey.  Now, honey is not vegan.  I understand this and I will say I do not often eat/use honey.  I really wanted to give this recipe a try though.  I figure next time I can just toast the seeds minus the honey.  I also threw in some sunflower seeds.  One type of seed, good. Two, even better! Â
For the dressing we need pomegranate juice, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, a neutral oil (such as avocado), and sage leaves.
The salad itself calls for arugula and spring mix, but I used arugula and baby spinach. I’m a big fan of baby spinach. It’s high in vitamin K, folate, and vitamin A. It’s been known to reduce the risk of cancer. It’s high in antioxidants. It’s anti-aging. It promotes strong bones and healthy teeth. It promotes cardiovascular health. Seriously, what a great addition to your salad! We will also need some apples of your choice (I chose honeycrisp because they are the best, obviously). And, since I had them on-hand, I threw in some cucumbers. I’ve been drinking this watermelon/mint/cucumber iced tea with fresh cucumbers in it. Absolutely wonderful. Also on-hand were some little tomatoes and carrots. In went those.
Let’s start with the seeds. The recipe says to throw them in a pan and toast them. Coat them with honey and let them turn into a brittle candy-like cluster. Well, the pan wasn’t working fast enough for me, so I put them in the toaster oven on 400 degrees. Talk about crispy. Pro-tip: Don’t burn them. They don’t taste as good and it makes a smoky mess of your kitchen. And the smoke alarm scares the cats. Regardless, they turned out edible and not half bad!
Now that we have our seed candy, we can mix up the dressing. Whisk the pomegranate juice, apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey, oil, and the finely chopped sage leaves in a bowl. It turns a really pretty mauve color!
Lastly, mix up your greens (and reds and oranges). Chop up the apple and top your salad with that. Add your seed candy and coat the whole thing with the dressing.
This salad is a great mix of sweet, crunchy, tart, and whatever tomatoes are. Juicy?
Enjoy!