Salmon Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Avocado

I never used to get a lot of colds other than the usual back-to-school cold that seems unavoidable and the odd winter cold, but in the past couple of years I feel like I have been getting sick ALL THE TIME.  I can’t even count the number of colds I’ve had in the past year or the amount of cold medicine I’ve had to buy.  And I'm once again sick this week, despite the fact that it’s summer and I don’t know anyone else that has a cold right now.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong – I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise, take vitamins, and wash my hands regularly – so if you have any good tips for keeping viruses away, I’m all ears!

In the meantime, I’m taking even more vitamins, along with Echinacea and zinc lozenges, and just the other day I bought oil of oregano, which a couple people I know swear by for preventing colds (though I’m a little late for that at this stage!)

I’m also squeezing even more vitamins into my meals, like this salmon spinach salad with strawberries and avocado.  Though the combination of ingredients may seem a little strange, they all work really well together and are very nutritious, making this sort of like a superfood salad!  Spinach has plenty of antioxidants, iron, calcium, and vitamins; strawberries provide lots of Vitamin C, as well as fiber, antioxidants, and other good things; and while avocados and salmon are high in fat, it’s the good kind of fat (that can lower your bad cholesterol and increase your good cholesterol), plus avocados are rich in potassium, fiber, folic acid, and Vitamin K, and salmon is full of protein, omega-3s, and Vitamins B and D.  Even the dressing is healthful from the addition of lime juice, shallot, and poppy seeds.

Bottom line: this salad is good for you, easy to make, tastes great, and will fill you up, making it a great summertime meal (whether you’re prone to colds or not!)

Salmon Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Avocado

Makes 2 main course servings

Ingredients:

2 (5oz each) salmon fillets (preferably wild)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Salt & Pepper

~4 cups baby spinach*

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

1 ripe avocado, cubed

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Place each salmon fillet skin side down on a piece of aluminum foil (on a baking sheet).  Rub each fillet with the olive oil and lime juice and season with salt and pepper.  Wrap each fillet with foil to form two packets.  Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until cooked through.  Be very careful opening packets after as hot steam will be released.  Let salmon cool slightly.

Meanwhile, add spinach, strawberries, and avocado to a large bowl, and prepare dressing by whisking together the oil, lime juice, vinegar, honey, shallot, and poppy seeds.  Toss salad with the dressing, then divide among two plates or bowls.  Place each cooked salmon fillet on top of each salad and serve.

*Note: I used regular spinach from the market (pictured) but I think baby spinach works better (as written in the recipe).

Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

Last weekend seemed like the first weekend I spent at my own place in a long time after taking lots of little trips lately.  It felt so nice to get back into a routine of going to the Farmer's Market, doing lots of cooking, shopping for new clothes, and even cleaning!  But though I'm enjoying a routine for now, I know it won't be long before I start craving a vacation again.  It's impossible to sit in a windowless cave of an office five days a week when it's so gorgeous outside!

Fortunately, you can always try to bring the sunshine and happy memories indoors with bright and sunny baked goods, like these adorable mini lemon poppy seed scones that are sure to put a smile on anyone's face!

I love anything lemon poppy seed-flavoured.  I love scones (though I try not to eat them too often).  I love anything miniature.  So after the success of my mini toffee scones a little while ago, I decided to make mini lemon poppy seed scones!

When I went to search for a base recipe for lemon poppy seed scones online, I was surprised to find that there weren't very many.  I ended up choosing a recipe from Bon Appetit, who has never steered me wrong before, but I made a few adjustments to the recipe, like significantly increasing the amount of lemon juice and zest, and of course making them into mini-sized scones!

These turned out just as good, if not better, than I had hoped!  They were light and fluffy with bursts of crunchy poppy seeds and a bright lemon flavour that's enhanced by the sweet lemon glaze on top.  They're just like little bites of sunshine, and because they're a fraction of the size of regular scones, you don't have to feel too guilty about eating them!

While my scones have long since disappeared, today's sunshine has not so I'm off to go sit outside while the warm weather lasts!

Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

Adapted from Bon Appetit, via Epicurious

Makes about 18 mini scones

Ingredients:

For the Scones:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1 large egg

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup 10% cream

For the Glaze:

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the large bowl of a food processor, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt), pulsing a few times until combined.  Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Whisk egg and lemon juice together in a small bowl, then add to the food processor.  Pulse until moist clumps form.  Add the cream, and pulse just until the dough comes together.

Using floured hands, gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a 4x4-inch square on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Cut the square into three even rows and three even columns, forming 9 smaller squares.  Cut each square in half diagonally to form two triangles, making a total of 18 triangles.  (See this post for a similar example of forming mini scones). 

Spread the triangles evenly across the baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven until scones are golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice until a pourable glaze forms.  Once scones have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle icing over the scones (or transfer the icing to a ziplock bag, snip off the corner, and squeeze out).  Serve immediately.