Happy Friday Campers!  For some of you it’s probably been a short work-week.  For others, you may not be returning until Monday!  I hope your Christmas and New Years were good to you!  I know mine was FANTASTIC!  Christmas in my family is always a big family affair with everything Christmas-related all over my parents’ home, with a keepsake-ornament-full Christmas tree, lights everywhere, Santa’s village, Christmas stockings–the whole sha-bang!  And Christmas was extra special this year as it was announced that my sister and brother-in-law will be adding to the number of stockings to be hung!  We’re all so excited for them!

Now that the new year has started, everybody’s making resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, live healthier, etc.  In that vein, I wanted to share with you all this salad I have literally become addicted to!  I made this not only for Thanksgiving, but also for Christmas dinner–and I promise you, it wasn’t enough!  You can have this as a light meal, or as a sweet and tangy side salad.  The flavors just pop all over the place!

Now you’re thinking….Pomegranates?  Do I have to buy the arils?  The answer is NO!  You can buy the whole thing!  Now you’re thinking “how do I seed them without destroying the fruit?!”  There’s a few great videos out there that show you how–but the best way I found was to cut off the bottom, score the outside, and soak the fruit in cold water for at least 10 minutes.  After that, it just pulls apart.  Take the fruit out under the water as seen in this video.  It’s great!  Everything else floats to the top, and you’re left with the fruit that sinks to the bottom.  And the rest of the salad is a breeze!

The salad dressing is a wonderful Raspberry Vinegrette that my friend JoAnn showed me how to make.  I’ve adapted it a tad bit, but pretty much, this is all her!  Thanks Jo!

Spring Mix Salad with Pomegranate, Apples, Feta and Pecans

Ingredients

Salad

• 1-2lb bag Spring Mix greens, or you can use 1 radicchio, and a mixture of spinach and romaine lettuce
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, chopped to bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup pecan halves

Raspberry Vinaigrette

• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 cup red wine pomegranate vinegar (regular red wine vinegar will work just fine)
• 1/2 cup raspberry syrup (you can find this by the maple syrup at the store)
• 1/2-1 cup vegetable oil
• salt
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

For the salad, toss together all ingredients, save the cheese and pecans until you’re ready to serve.

For the dressing, in a bowl, stir together the mustard and honey.  Once combined, whisk together the vinegar and syrup until combined.  Slowly drizzle the oil in, whisking constantly until combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste, I’d recommend about 1/2 tsp salt, and a few good turns of the pepper mill.  Let the dressing stand a few minutes, whisk again, and pour desired amount on the salad.

Enjoy!

//