The Road Less Traveled By

The weekend before my birthday, my oldest daughter made it home from university to spend a day with us. (Yes, I know my birthday was nearly two weeks ago. I promise this is the last birthday post for 2013.)

If you know me well, you'll remember how I love my family walks, and it's no surprise that we spent an hour walking down by the Humber River. It was a beautiful day, the leaves were at their colourful best, and the river walk is always a lovely one. But the highlight was witnessing the artistry of inukshuk sculpture - the creation of Inuit landmarks - in person.

Sisters enjoying their walk together:

And how better to celebrate a day together than with a traditional birthday arugula salad?  

Arugula Salad with Pear, Blue Cheese and Apricot Vinaigrette
(adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients:

2 cups washed arugula, lightly packed

1 cup Boston lettuce, torn

1/2 ripe pear, thinly sliced

couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice

4 ounces St. Agur or other blue cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup apricot all-fruit spread

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

(note: this makes more than enough dressing for a couple of meals of this salad)

Combine arugula leaves and Boston lettuce in a salad bowl. Squeeze a little lemon juice over pear slices to keep them from browning. Arrange them on top of lettuces. Top salad with blue cheese crumbles. Combine vinegar and apricot preserves. Stream in oil as you whisk dressing. Pour dressing over salad, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.