Greens, Fruit and Toasted Pecan Salad

I admit it - I've been a blogging slacker these days. As most of you already know, we're working away dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" for the BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine cookbook and it's looking pretty darned good. There's learning, the glitches, the endless hours and the cooperation needed to collect close to 140 recipes from international sources and understand them all. Products that are easily recognizable in one part of the world become foreign in another. Everyone has a different writing style and a different story to tell. For me, apart from having a great vehicle to raise money for the World Food Programme, the diversity of it all is nothing short of magical - or maybe it'll be magical once we get to the other side of it. Those who have been entrenched in this process are beginning to learn a whole new respect for an alcoholic substance called tequila and it's now become the standard joke - just pass the tequila. One blogger, who shall remain unnamed but knows who she is and if she's reading this from the UK (oops), thought she might want to squirt lemon in her eye to go with her tequila.

But more than feeling like somehow, we're making a difference, there's a bonding that's happening internationally. Although none of us has met one another, the friendships that are/have been created are lasting and entirely meaningful. I bet I could walk into one of at least 5 homes and have a bottle of tequila plopped on the table and we'd be laughing and talking like old friends.

OK, on to the food portion of the post. Salads have been my staple for the past bit and this one is a winner. I love fruit and nuts in my salads but this one gets even tastier because of the dressing.



Ingredients

1 large bunch of greens
2 cans drained mandarin oranges or 2 large clementines
strawberries, sliced (as many as you like)
1/2 cup blueberries
sliced colourful vegetables (I added fresh peas from the shell)
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Dressing

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp chopped onion
1/4 tsp worchester sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in food processor. This dressing will stay in the fridge for a while so great to make double and triple batches.

The long weekend is here. Once your dressing is made and refrigerated, your salad takes 5 minutes to throw together. Voila - you're a hero.