Summer Staples

Quite possibly my favorite food in summer is my mom's Summer Spinach Salad. I'll try to come up with the dressing from memory (since that is what makes it awesome!)

Poppyseed dressing:
1/2 c canola oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp+2 tsp red wine or cider vinegar
2 Tbsp +2tsp sugar
1/2? tsp salt (I'm not positive that it is a half, but I think it is)
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard (I use a little less since it is often too strong with that)
~1 tsp poppyseeds

Combine first six ingredients in blender. Blend until sugar is dissolved (or until there are no more onion chunks). Then add poppyseeds and mix thoroughly.

Technically you are supposed to make the salad all at once, but I just make up the dressing and make single serve salads (since not all of the ingredients keep fresh at the same rate) and I am not serving 4-6 at once.

Summer Spinach Salad
10 oz spinach washed and dried with stems removed
4 green onions, chopped
1 pt strawberries, quartered
1-2 bananas, sliced
Toasted almonds slivered or sliced
Poppyseed dressing (probably not the whole container)

Mix everything and toss. Or if you are serving yourself and yourself only, just throw what you want on it at any given time and toss.

Also, my mom makes this great, tasty, healthy black bean salad, which to me tastes like summer. And is a good use of leftover veggies, as I discovered on Thursday when trying to plan a dinner that would get rid of my green onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Again, I am approximating, but I think it's close.

Colorful Black Bean Salad
2 cans black beans
1 green or yellow bell pepper (my mom prefers yellow because it makes it more colorful), chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 pt. grape tomatoes, cut in half
3 Tbsp+ cilantro, chopped

Combine beans and veggies and stir to mix well.

Dressing:
3 Tbsp fresh lemon (I use lime) juice
3/4 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Stir dressing and add to bean and veggie mixture. Stir and enjoy!

They are both fresh and tasty and I make both frequently in summer. Actually, I always keep poppyseed dressing on hand in summer and just throw it on spinach anytime I have spinach. It keeps me eating my greens when I would much rather eat corn.