Today is our eighth snow day of the school year! I find it funny that we originally had today off, but after our first few snow days the administration made today a school day again. Unfortunately for them, it snowed yesterday and last night, so today got re-cancelled. I personally really like snow, but I have to admit that this routine is getting a little old. Plus, senior year will be over in the blink of an eye! I’d like to be able to enjoy going to school while I can (do not fear- I’m not one of those people who adores going to school every day, but I do generally like my classes and I enjoy seeing friends rather than being snowed at home with only homework to do).

While baking is a nice thing to do on a snow day, I’ve been craving fresher foods reminiscent of spring and summer. A lightened-up poppy seed dressing on a strawberry salad with almonds and Parmesan? Perfect! This dressing takes under 10 minutes to prepare and is delicious. It doesn’t rely on mayonnaise or any of that kind of thing for creaminess. You slowly drizzle in oil to make an emulsion, which renders the dressing perfectly creamy. The dressing perfectly complements the strawberries, the Parmesan adds a kick of flavor, and the almonds add crunch. Maybe I’ll make this for a school lunch someday this week! I’m terrible about packing good lunches- at 6 in the morning I have no interest to get up to make anything, and the night before I’m usually up late doing homework. But this super-quick salad might change that. Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Lighter Poppy Seed Dressing on a Strawberry, Parmesan, and Almond Salad

Recipe from Pink Parsley

Makes enough for 6 medium-sized salads

Ingredients

For the dressing:

2 teaspoons grated white onion (you can reduce this a bit if you don’t like raw onion)

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons white wine or white balsamic vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar since that’s all we had on hand besides balsamic)

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

For the salad: (I don’t have exact amounts listed because the salad:dressing ratio can vary by preference)

Lettuce

Slivered almonds

Sliced strawberries

Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions