Ah the best laid plans... I could have sworn that Tiny's Organic Produce would have dried cherries leftover from last year. Then I could have also sworn that I brought the cookbook I needed home with me from the office. Alas I did not. So this recipe is a bit of an improvisation. Still, it was tasty, easy, and will definitely be made again in the Eddy household. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Spinach Salad with Dried Cherries
Serves 2

• 1 bag of fresh spinach (from Nature's Last Stand)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (any type of seeds will do)
• 1/4 cup dried cherries (I used cranberries)
• 1/2 of a red onion
• 4 tsp red wine vinegar (Sea Breeze Farms)
• 1 Tbsp Chardonnay mustard (Sea Breeze Farms)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt
• 2 slices crusty bread (from Tall Grass Bakery)

1. To make the mustard vinaigrette, combine the red wine vinegar, Chardonnay mustard, olive oil, sugar, and a dash of salt and mix well.
   
2. To make croutons, slice the bread into chunks. Preheat the oven to 400.
3. Combine the bread chunks and some olive oil in an oven proof bowl and bake for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
4. Combine the fresh spinach, seeds, dried fruit, and croutons. Drizzle with dressing.
   

Patricia's Notes: As with most salads, you can add just about anything you want to the bowl and it will probably be good. On our second helping of the salad, I added some crumbled feta cheese to the bowl and that was a tasty addition. When I did a little taste-test of the dressing before putting it on the salad, I wasn't at all happy. It was harsh, a little bitter, and honestly, I just didn't like it. But once I combined it with the salad ingredients, the flavors all melded together perfectly. The spinach was the ideal salad green for this salad. My husband tried his second bowl with a spicy lettuce mix and he reports that it just wasn't as good.