Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

As I packed up the kitchen at our last apartment, and cooked my last few meals, I started panicking a bit. Ok, a lot. I knew we wouldn’t have a kitchen for a while. But, as I started packing up our utility junk drawer, guess what I found inside?

Crunchy Cranberry Salad 6

It was one of my oldest recipes, for a showstopping cranberry salad, and salad means I wouldn’t need a kitchen to make it! You can see in the bottom right corner that it was printed from allrecipes.com in 2003. I thought it would be fun to show you how many times I’ve scribbled on it (I whited-out the parts where I scribbled phone numbers and e-mail addresses) , making changes here and there. Looking back, before this blog, I used to save printed recipes in a 3 ring binder, organized with dividers: salads, hot appetizers, seafood, meat, etc. I’d work on recipes and edit them with pen and paper. That all seems so archaic now yet it wasn’t that long ago.


recipe paper

If you compare the recipe I’m giving you today and the one I originally tried, it is quite different. I’ve also given options in the ingredients because I’ve substituted at times when I didn’t have certain ingredients and many versions work equally well. Every time I’ve made it, whether slivered almonds or sliced, a mesculan base or bed of baby spinach, I’ve gotten loads of compliments.

Crunchy Cranberry Salad 10

Crunchy Cranberry Salad
~5 to 6 servings

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons minced shallot or red onion
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 7 ounces salad greens (mesculan, baby spinach, or favorite)
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds, lightly toasted
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions –

1. In a small bowl or cup, whisk together olive oil, vinegars, sugar, shallot or onion, and paprika. Stir in toasted sesame seeds and poppy seeds and whisk until thickened.

sesame poppy dressing birdseye

2. In a large serving bowl, toss together greens, cranberries, and almonds. Right before serving, season with salt and pepper, and dress. Toss to coat and serve.

Crunchy Cranberry Salad 4

posted by jessica at 11:32 AM Filed under American, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.