california chicken salad with cranberries and lemon-poppyseed dressing

I found this beautiful nest on a walk after a very windy day, amazed as ever by "bird architecture". Spring has us all walking around with a goofy smile, discovering buds and leaves and greenery anew every day.

And we know what Spring means - salad! This recipe started with a salad bought from an instore cafe counter at, of all places, Target. I came right home and fiddled with this and that until I had a fair imitation, which I then made over and over - it's addictive and tasty, and it hits all the taste buds in a scrumptious way: smooth, rough, crunchy, tangy. The store bought salad had the most unctuous dressing, and I'm happy to say my version is much more acceptable. I also used cherry-infused dried cranberries, after finding a lone packet of dried cherries - for $8!
You can arrange slices of chicken on a platter rather than tossing everything together if you prefer.

To make :

romaine lettuce, torn into small pieces

arugula or mesclun

dried cherries or dried cherry-infused cranberries

chopped walnuts, toasted

sliced or large dice poached or roasted chicken

fresh goat cheese

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For the lemon-poppyseed dressing:

2 T. olive oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. sugar

1 T. buttermilk

salt and pepper

1/2-1 t. poppyseeds

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Place the lettuces and chicken in a bowl and toss. Add a handful of cherries or cranberries, and a handful of the chopped walnuts, then add the dressing. Toss gently and top with pieces of goat cheese.

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Delish!

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You might also enjoy the wildly popular Tuscan Bean salad -

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What I'm reading: The problem with reading Elizabeth George's mysteries? Staying up til 1 in the morning to finish the 718 pages:)

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