Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mom's Spinach Salad


You can make this "wilted" or not, however you prefer. Optional additions include chopped tomatoes, green onions, sliced mushrooms, or cooked bacon bits.
Thanks, Mom.
1 1/2 - 2 T. sesame seeds
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1/2 t. sugar
2 t. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
spinach (I use a 6 or 9 oz. bag prewashed, because I hate washing it)
Put seeds in large pan over medium-high heat. Shake pan often until seeds are lightly browned (5 minutes or so). Pour from pan and set aside.
Mix vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce; set aside.
In pan over medium heat, combine sesame oil and garlic. Saute until golden (about 4 minutes or less -- do not scorch! warns Mom). If you want your spinach wilted, add it here and stir over high heat until it's just wilted -- "the way you prefer." If you don't want it wilted, pour the garlic mixture into a large bowl, then add the raw spinach and stir it up good. Transfer spinach onto plates, sprinkle with sesame seeds (and any of the optional tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.), and drizzle with the vinegar-soy mixture. Yum.
Anyone else have good salad ideas?

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13 Comments:

Blogger Kim said...

What a great site you have here! Love this!!! Great recipes.

October 30, 2008 at 2:46 AM  
Blogger Sally Ferguson said...

Lynn, Strawberry Spinach Salad is one of the few salads I can get my family to eat!
Thanks for stopping by!

October 30, 2008 at 5:22 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Thanks, Kim.

Sally, strawberry spinach sounds delicious. Thanks for the idea.

October 30, 2008 at 8:13 AM  
Blogger The Bumbles said...

Thanks for visiting our blog - The Last Best League was a pretty good book - especially if you like baseball of course. It paints a picture of Cape Cod and the league pretty close to reality - I have yet to see one of the games but plan to soon.

I do not cook - sometimes I can bake a treat (since that is what I REALLY like to eat) - but I had to bring a salad to a pumpkin carving party last weekend. Your site would have come in handy - I'll bookmark it for future needs. I ended up with a spinach salad with roasted pecans, gorgonzola cheese, craisins and apples (from a local orchard). The maple vinegrette dressing was what made it so delicious.

October 30, 2008 at 9:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lynn -- I love spinach salad and this sounds like a good one -- I'll try it over the holidays.

Re. salad recipes. I have just started reading your blog, so I don't know if you've talked about cornbread salad? If not, it is great! Of course, it's not particularly diet because of the cornbread! If you haven't had it, let me know and I'll send you the recipe.

October 30, 2008 at 11:11 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

The Bumbles: I love baseball, and reading about it. I just finished Orel Hershiser's (1988) book, Out of the Blue. It gave a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a pitcher. Also recently finished The Game: One Man, Nine Innings, A Love Affair with Baseball by Robert Benson. He lives in the Nashville area, and covered a minor league game, and interwove stories of his own life. We love to catch minor league games when we can.

Your salad sounds yummy. I've never heard of maple vinaigrette. Do you have a recipe? I'd love to try it.

October 30, 2008 at 12:49 PM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Addhumorandfaith: I've never heard of cornbread salad! I'd love a recipe. That sounds really intriguing! Thanks.

October 30, 2008 at 12:53 PM  
Blogger Megan said...

Hi Lynn
thanks for checking my blog out.
The ghost cake flames were actually sugar cubes soaked in lemon extract inside eggshells, it burns this HUGE blueish flame and lasts longer than a candle. (fun for the kids)
I love your recipes! I used to LOVE to cook, and I used to be good at it, three kids under the age of 5 has changed that! : )
Your blog makes me want to start cooking right now!
Do you mind if I add you to my blog list?
Check back anytime! : )

October 30, 2008 at 10:28 PM  
Blogger Jana McBurney-Lin said...

Lynn,
I love spinach and used to eat it all the time in Japan with a bit of soy sauce and fish flakes on top. This recipe sounds delicious, as well. I'll have to try it. My thanks to your mom.

October 31, 2008 at 1:30 PM  
Blogger Lynn said...

The Bumbles: We tried your suggestion last night, spinach with gorgonzola, craisins, and apples; we added toasted pine nuts instead of pecans, and used a store-bought spinach salad dressing. It was delicious! We'll definitely be making that again. Thanks.

Megan: sugar cubes in lemon extract, set afire -- brilliant! Your cake was really cute. I think with three kids under the age of five, you are excused from all extra cooking/cleaning, etc. jobs for a while! I'd be honored if you want to add me to your blog list. Thank you.

Jana: Please elaborate on fish flakes! What do they taste like? Do you still eat them now that you're living here?

October 31, 2008 at 1:45 PM  
Blogger The Bumbles said...

Wow! I've never had anyone ever try a recipe from me - which is not mine and I'm sure is not original to the person that gave it to me - but nevertheless - very cool! I feel badly that I didn't check back in to see that you needed the dressing recipe. It is as follows:

*1/4 cup maple syrup, warmed
*1 & 1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar
*1/4 cup xtra virgin olive oil
*freshly ground salt and pepper

In a slow stream add the oil into the vinegar and whisk. Then slowly add syrup while still whisking. Season and enjoy! I doubled this and had more than enough for the large salad I made for the party.

Oh - and I'll put those book suggestions on my to read list. Did you ever read "Wait Till Next Year" by Doris Kearns Goodwin? It combines my 2 favorites - memoirs and baseball.

Come back and visit us again - I'll check in with you as well.

October 31, 2008 at 5:05 PM  
Blogger Lynn said...

The Bumbles: Thanks for sharing the maple vinaigrette recipe. I will definitely try it (must buy some maple syrup first :) ) I'll bet you're a better cook than you give yourself credit for.

I have read Wait Till Next Year and liked it a lot. I also liked the Sandy Koufax biography that came out a few years ago. But one on Joe Dimaggio I read not long ago was not so good; too much game by game, inning by inning description of his hitting streak. I just skimmed those chapters ;0

October 31, 2008 at 6:17 PM  
Blogger The Bumbles said...

Not a cook AT ALL. That is why I make salads and desserts that only require mixing! If I feel adventurous I bake something. Otherwise I print out interesting sounding recipes and give them to my husband. He is the cook. AND - he enjoys doing dishes! He's a keeper. I've requested pancakes for breakfast tomorrow so we can use up the rest of the maple syrup left over from the dressing :0)

November 1, 2008 at 3:41 PM  

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