Patriotic Salad

I have come to love salads. I'm not sure what was wrong before, but now they are familiar territory and not a chore to consume (read in monotone) because I know they are so good for me. This salad I made for family July 4th. The jicama stars are easy and a splash of pizazz.

To make the stars, you first peel the jicama. Then slice it and cut the stars with a small canapé cutter. You can save the rest of the jicama for another, less festive, summer salad.

1 head romaine
2 cups (ie, handfulls) raw spinach
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 of a clamshell of strawberries, sliced
1/2 pint blueberries (fresh only)
Jicama stars

You can also add feta and pecans.

I used poppyseed dressing, which is my favorite. The following makes a lot; I only used what was left in the frig, maybe 1/3 cup of dressing total:

3/4 c. oil
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. poppy seeds

Wow, this recipe has a lot of sugar in it. Really, it could be a dessert, if it weren't un-American to have raw spinach in a "dessert."