Strawberry, avocado spinach Salad

Strawberry-Avocado Spinach Salad with Copycat Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing
A Bountiful Kitchen
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16 oz baby spinach
1-pint strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1-2 avocados,  ripe but still slightly firm cut into chunks or sliced
6-8 oz Gorgonzola or Bleu Cheese, crumbled
1 cups almonds, sliced
1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon
dash salt
Homemade Poppyseed Dressing (below)

Place a sheet of foil (about 12 inches long)  or parchment paper on the counter.  Give the foil a light spray of cooking oil.
Place the almonds and sugar in a large teflon pan over medium-medium high heat. Stir when sugar begins to heat up. It will give off a fragrance similar to cotton candy :) Be careful not to turn the heat up too high, or you will burn the sugar and have to toss the almonds.
Stir the almonds and sugar constantly after sugar starts to melt. This takes about 5-8 minutes to get to this point. Once sugar begins to melt or caramelize, remove pan from heat and pour onto foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle with an additional tablespoon of sugar. Let cool. Break apart when cooled if necessary.
Place the spinach in a large bowl. Toss with strawberries, avocado and Gorgonzola cheese. Or place the spinach in a bowl and top with avocado, strawberries and cheese. Top with cooled sugared almonds.
When ready to serve, toss with about 1/2 cup of the poppyseed dressing, or serve on the side.
Serves about 6-8 as a side salad.

Tips:
-If you are making this ahead, wait to cut the avocado until no more than an hour before serving.
Add the almonds just before serving.
-I usually double or triple the amount of sugared almonds for future use. I like the salad to be heavy on the almonds, so I probably use two cups total of sugared almonds.
-I also love this with a little thinly sliced red onion or bunch of green onions, chopped.

ABK Copycat Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing

1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup mayo, light or regular (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard 
1 teaspoon grated onion (white, yellow or sweet onion, optional)
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard and onion and process for 30 seconds. 
With blender or food processor on high, gradually add oil in a slow, steady stream. 
Stir in poppy seeds.

Tips:
-If you don't have a blender or food processor, you can make this in a large bowl using a whisk or a hand mixer. 
-You may make the dressing without the mayo and add it after all of the other ingredients if you prefer. If the dressing is not as creamy as you would like, or too tart, add the mayo.
-Keeps for weeks in the refrigerator.

-This recipe is enough dressing for 3 times the salad above. 

Strawberry Lamingtons

 

Ingredients

Sponge
You can make this out of the Edmonds Cookbook – it is called the ‘Three-Minute Sponge’.
1 cup Edmonds Standard Plain Flour
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 tbsp Tararua Butter (melted)
2 tbsp Meadow Fresh Calci Trim Milk
2 tsp Edmonds Baking Powder
You also need:
Desiccated coconut (or coconut threads for an extra special twist)
Strawberry jelly crystals (if you don’t want strawberry you can also do chocolate – what ever you fancy!)
Freshly whipped Meadow Fresh Cream (to pipe in the middle)

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Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease and line two 20x30cm sponge tins.
2. For the sponge, combine flour sugar, eggs, butter and milk with an electric mixer in a bowl and beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Then stir in baking powder.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
4. Leave to cool in tins before turning out onto a wire rack. Then pop it in the freezer until it hardens up (though don’t let it freeze).
5. While sponge is in the freezer, make your jelly up. This only had to be slightly set (about an hour in the fridge), as you’ll need it to be runny for dipping. If it’s too set, soften it by placing the bottom of the jelly dish in warm water.
6. Take sponge cakes out of freezer and slice into even squares. Dip squares into jelly, then cover with desiccated coconut. Put in fridge to set.
7. Once set, slice each lamington down the middle and fill with whipped cream to serve.