Two reasons I keep thinking about summer.
- It is already getting too dang hot here in Phoenix.
- My girls are still obsessed with the movie Frozen and I seem to always have a running soundtrack of the movie going on in my head.
Lately it’s been mostly the song that the little snowman sings “In Summer”. I’m pretty much okay with the latter reason. In fact I probably love the movie just as much as my little peanuts.
But the first reason?! Heck no! I am definitely not okay with 100+ degrees days right around the corner.
I find it a tad bit amusing that the second Ben walks in the door after returning from work, he begins complaining how unbearably hot the house is and proceeds to turn down the air. Haha! Like he has been the one in the house all day.
Most of the time the thermostat is at 80 degrees or above. Not only am I pretty cold blooded, but I’m a bit of a penny pincher to say the least.
In order to not turn my house into a complete oven on these toasty days, I try to not turn my oven on. Makes sense, right? Many of my go to recipes for days like these are easy crockpot meals or simple salads.
This particular day last week I opted for a salad. I had just bought some arugula and baby spinach and had 3 containers of raspberries (they happened to be on sale; like I said, penny pincher) sitting in my fridge.
I thought I had some macadamia nuts in the freezer for when I make my version of white chocolate macadamia cookies, but I was completely out.
I did, however, find some sweetened flaked coconut and determined that would taste wonderful toasted and sprinkled on top of a raspberry salad with creamy poppyseed dressing. And yes, it did.
The dressing for this recipe is quite simple. Most of the ingredients you should already have on hand.
This dressing comes in handy with a lot of my cooking. I use it for my coleslaw base , inside wraps, for marinating and cooking chicken, etc. It will soon be your go to dressing as well, and I’m quite sure you won’t be buying anymore store bought poppyseed dressing anytime soon.
So as much as the summer heat can wear on my nerves and my patience, I do enjoy the fresh meals that come along with it. Hopefully you will enjoy them too!
What is your favorite summer fresh salad?
- For the Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon poppyseeds
- dash of salt
- For the Salad:
- 2 cups baby arugula, packed
- 2 cups baby spinach, packed
- 6 oz. raspberries, washed and patted dry
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- In a small bowl combine all ingredients for dressing, minus the poppyseeds. Stir until well combined. Add poppyseeds and stir until evenly distributed. Cover and chill until ready to use.
- Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes until lightly golden and brown, stirring after each minute to avoid burning. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Assemble salad by mixing together arugula and spinach in desired serving bowl. Top with raspberries, pecans, toasted coconut and dried cranberries.
- Drizzle about ½ cup of dressing over the top immediately before serving. Serve remaining dressing on the side.
