By I closed on a beautiful home in Davis Island this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.
Mama called at noon to tell me Aunt Sophia has heartburn again. She reported this with the urgency of a woman who considers every piece of information critical and every phone call an opportunity to also critique my cooking from forty miles away.
Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.
I made a cold tzatziki orzo salad — cooked orzo tossed with tzatziki, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and olives. Perfect for a night too hot for the oven. Sophia ate 2 servings and said nothing, which means it was good. Alexander ate 3 and asked for more. The pan was empty by nine. Empty pans are the highest form of flattery in this kitchen.
The weeks pass and I am learning that life at 51 is not what I expected at twenty-five. It is messier, harder, more beautiful. The moussaka is better because my hands have made it more times. The career is stronger because the failures taught me what the successes could not. And the love — the love I pour into every dish, every showing, every Sunday drive to Tarpon Springs — is bigger now because I have lost enough to know what it costs.
That orzo salad disappeared so fast it reminded me that the simplest cold dishes — the ones that ask nothing of the oven and everything of good ingredients — are the ones that bring people back for seconds and thirds without a word. This Cranberry Almond Spinach Salad carries that same spirit: bright, effortless, and gone before you can set the serving spoon down. On a warm Davis Island evening after a week like this one, that is exactly what this kitchen needed.
Cranberry Almond Spinach Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Toast the almonds. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sliced almonds for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard until emulsified. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Assemble the salad. Place the baby spinach in a large serving bowl. Top with dried cranberries, toasted almonds, sliced red onion, and crumbled feta cheese.
- Dress and toss. Drizzle the dressing over the salad just before serving. Toss gently to coat all the leaves evenly without wilting the spinach.
- Serve immediately. Plate the salad and serve right away for the best texture and crunch from the almonds.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 165 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 145mg