Favorite salad

We spent our weekend mostly outside enjoying the best DC spring weather. Blue skies, sunshine and warm, not overly hot temperatures. The weekend was perfect for grilling and lent itself to quick meals. I have been wanting to eat this salad (recipe below) ever since I saw the recipe. It looked great. I was of course hesitant. The main ingredient is spinach. I love spinach, fresh and crisp, in salads, or anything not dessert. However Keith likens it to a weapon that I might use to punish him. "Spinach, binach, I hate spinach" can often be heard chanted around the house when I utter its name. Still this salad was just the thing I needed to round out the steak and potato supper. I figured that since it included bacon this salad would probably pass. Because bacon is like magic food glitter making most anything tempting. I was right. This salad went over well. So well that Keith was hoping I didn't want seconds so that he could finish the last bits in the bowl. It has now become our new favorite salad. I am including the recipe so that you too can enjoy the wonders of spinach in your home or on the patio. By the way, this salad was a BIG hit at the neighbors, being gobbled up by all.

Spinach Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

¼ cup maple syrup

3 Tablespoon minced shallots (about 1 medium)

2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 Tablespoon country style Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

½ cup vertically sliced red onion

½ cup chopped Braeburn apple

4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1 (10 oz.) package fresh spinach

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add mushrooms and remaining ingredients; toss well to coat.

Makes eight 1 ½ cups servings

80 calories (37% from fat); 3.3g fat (sat 0.6g, mono 1.6g, poly 0.7g); 2.6g protein; 11.1g carb; 1.2g fiber; 3mg chol; 1.2mg iron; 219mg sodium; 43mg calc

Cooking Light March 2008

Helpful hints:
I've made this 3 times over the long weekend. I added grape tomatoes and didn't have a Braeburn apple and opted to use the Granny Smith apple instead. It was great. I also omitted the apple and it was great. I added crutons and it was great. I suggest using REAL maple syrup as it is LESS sweet than the corn syrup based variety most folks buy. This is a sweet vinaigrette. If you use the corn syrup based maple syrup keep in mind that the vinaigrette will be sweeter and you will need to add a bit more salt. Just give it a taste and you'll figure out what's best for you.