Dinner on the Farm - Broccoli Strawberry salad with Poppy Seed dressing

I love the sweet, lemony poppy seed dressing you can find at finer cafeterias and restaurants. It is surprisingly easy to make and if done with olive oil and fresh ingredients can also be healthy. Despite the while sugar.

Tonight I made a version of a popular salad only found in finer restaurants. Usually it is made with fresh spinach and I had intended to use the rest of the kale in the refrigerator instead but I also had 3 small heads of broccoli that I needed to use. It turned out fantastic and I will be making this version more often.


Broccoli Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed dressing

4 c fresh broccoli flowerettes.
2 c. diced fresh strawberries
8 oz Feta cheese crumbles

Clean up the broccoli to make little flowerettes, the smaller the better. Chop fresh strawberries and mix. Add in the feta cheese and mix well. This dish will be very pretty!

Lemon Poppy Seed dressing

2/3 c olive oil
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seed
2 tsp chopped onion
1 tsp dark mustard (I often use German mustard's)

In a blender/ninja mix these ingredients until well blended. Usually I blend it an entire minute. Pour over the salad mixture and stir well. Before serving, stir again to make sure everything is coated with the dressing.


This is amazing and again you can usually find it made with fresh spinach. Maybe next time we'll add fresh spinach and create a whole new dish?

Dinner on the Farm - Southwest Corn and Bean Salad

I love mixed salads in the summer. Especially those with a bold taste. This recipes can be modified to fit what you have in the pantry. I am bringing you the version I did this evening.

Southwest Corn and Bean Salad

1 can sweet corn
1 can chickpeas
1 can black olives, drained
2 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/3 c. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 large tomato chopped
1/3 c lime juice
3 tbl olive oil

Drain the corn, chickpeas and black olives in a colander and rinse. Set aside.

Combine the chopped cilantro, olive oil, garlic and lime juice in a large blow. Whisk well to blend the flavors and let it sit for 10 min.

Then, fold in the corn, chickpeas and black olives along with the cabbage, red onion and tomato. Mix well. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.


You can substitute black beans for the chick peas if you like and red cabbage for green cabbage for color. Also, chopped colored bell peppers would be pretty and delicious too.