Spring lettuce salad with honey dressing, and a winner!
I have really enjoyed running my latest giveaway, you know, the 5 jars of raw and infused Nebraska honey. In my blog comments, I learned a whole bunch of new ways to use honey, from my awesome readers–that means YOU!
And we have a winner . . . but you’ll have to read to the bottom of this post to find out if it’s you. π
Here are a few uses for honey that were especially fun and some of them quite new to me:
- used to help heal cuts
- drizzled over cooked carrots
- mixed with cinnamon to make cough syrup
- as a weight-loss aid, dissolved in water and drunk before meals
- helps with seasonal allergies, if it’s local and raw
- mixed with peanut butter in oatmeal, chocolate chips sprinkled on top (yum)
- straight off the spoon
- adding spices to raw honey to boost immunityβ¦black seed, cinnamon, ginger and cayenne pepper
- used to fight dandruff
- to sweeten smoothies
- drizzled on Greek yogurt, with pistachios π (yum, also)
- creamed with cinnamon and eaten on toast! π
No health claims, here, folks, of course! I’m so happy that I have a continual supply of honey from our hives, and (fingers crossed) I’m hoping that we can continue to keep bees on our place.
We eat lots of raw honey ourselves, from drizzling it on our morning toast and oatmeal, to stirring it into our tea at night. Because we have a few family members who are sensitive to sugar, raw honey is our favorite sweetener.
Have you ever made salad dressing with raw honey in it? Do I have a recipe for you! I know what you’re thinking, Gentle Reader. π “Honey on salad . . . sounds awfully sweet . . . maybe even too sweet . . . ” but this recipe includes snappy Dijon mustard, and tangy balsamic vinegar, so it’s just perfect to eat on early garden lettuces. Oh, you must try it!
See? Doesn’t it look yummy?
That’s because. . . it is yummy!
Here’s the recipe:
- For the salad:
- Big bowlful of spring lettuces: washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup strawberries, washed and sliced
- 1 apple, cored, sliced and cubed
- 3/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted*
- 1/2 cup sliced spring onions
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- And for the dressing:
- 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 2 T raw honey
- 1 T Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2/3 cup good olive oil
- Toss lettuces with other salad ingredients, except for nuts and cheese.
- Mix dressing ingredients together in a jar with a lid, and shake until combined.
- Pour dressing on top of salad and toss.
- Sprinkle with pecans and feta. Take a picture. Sneak a bit for a taste. π
- There will be dressing left over, and it will stay fresh in your refrig for a long time. It’s also good as a marinade on chicken!
- *To toast the pecans: saute gently in a cast iron skillet on medium heat, until they start to smell delicious, and brown just a little. Be careful not to burn them! (I usually do: when I made this recently, little Mack looked at it in dismay: “Burned nuts in salad??”)
And here’s another picture. It’s just so pretty. I can’t resist.
Oh, yes, and I can’t forget: our winner of the raw and infused honey giveaway (drum roll, puh-lease) is Tamara S. from Georgia. I’ve e-mailed her, and this sweet package will be winging its way to her this week. Congratulations, Tamara!
And thanks ever so much, my Gentle Readers, for entering my giveaway, and for reading this space so faithfully. π
You are very, very good to me! *smooch*
Oh yeah, I’ll be sharing this recipe with my cool friends over at The Prairie Homestead. Come on over, there’s lots to learn over there!
- Raise the bar on your watering system with drip tape, and an amazing GIVEAWAY!
- This Beautiful Life
Looks delicious and perfect for a Spring day!
Wow look so delicious!
I absolutely love honey and never thought to have it in a salad.
Interesting! So very sad i missed the giveaway.
Keep in Touch(ed),
KG
http://www.kgstyleinc.com
Honey is amazing all around. I always have it in the house! π
Stomach rumbling, pinning to my Favorite Recipe board. It’s a mix of almost everything I love. I might substitute goat cheese for the feta – or maybe not!
I think any crumbly cheese would be good in this, Alana. Even a good blue cheese (if you like blue cheese) would be good, I think. And even better (I think) would be if you had some sugared nuts. Wouldn’t that be good? Of course then we almost could call it a dessert salad. π
Looks like a delicious recipe, I will try it once it stops raining !!!! ( Good old Blighty)
Would you believe it, it has been raining here, too, Anita-Clare! Our little muddy pond is nearly full, after being almost empty. Good to get the moisture!
Great looking salad, and this is just the time of year that I really get into eating salads, so this is one that we will be making this week. We use a lot of raw honey in our homes and as an ingredient in a salad dressing, it works very well with the other items you have listed. Now to get some strawberries
There ya go, Chef! We eat lots of salads this time of year, too. I toasted homemade bread the other night when I made this salad, and called it a meal. It was delicious!
I had no idea you could use honey for so many things. I recently used it to help with strep throat. After reading your post I admit I am hungry and want to make a salad with your recipe.