Blood Orange and Beet Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I'm sure many of you coupled-up folks will be dining with the one you love. I'm not the world's biggest fan of Valentine's Day, even though I have a longtime boyfriend whom I adore like none other. Maybe it's all the pink. Or my intense fear of fat little cloth diaper wearing cherubs sneakily hiding behind bushes and stop signs, with their poisoned love arrows aimed at my jugular....
 I do however enjoy a reason to cook a fancy dinner for my man and me. And I do like flowers and stuffed animals, so I guess it's not that bad.  I wanted to make a salad this year for our Valentine's Day feast o'love  that was really killer, and I kinda obsessed over it all week until I came up with this Blood Orange and Beet Salad, using some of my favorite seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Blood Orange and Beet Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

 for 2

-2 cups Spring Mix Salad Greens, divided 1 cup per bowl

-1 medium beet, grated into small strips with cheese grater

-1 blood orange,peeled and  cut into bite sized pieces

-1/2 cup of feta cheese

-1/2 cup honey roasted almonds

-1/2 small red onion, sliced thin

-1/2 cup dried craisins

-3 T. olive oil

-3 T. red wine vinegar

-3 T. cranberry juice ( I used Knudsen's "Just Cranberry")

- 1 pinch each salt and pepper

Directions: Equally distribute beets, blood oranges, crumbled feta, almonds, onions and craisins into separate bowls. In another small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and cranberry juice, drizzle over top of salads just before serving.

These deliciously devilish oranges are in season right now, tis' a thing of beauty.

This salad is gorgeous, with the contrast of the dark purple and blood red oranges. Nothing says "I love you" or  "I at least  like you enough to make you a delightful salad on Valentine's day" than a healthy and beautiful dish.

 If you serve this to your Valentine it will knock their socks off. And possibly other articles of clothing too...ahem.

 I brought this salad to work today and it stopped every single person dead in their tracks

 with a lunchtime symphony of "Oooohhss, and Ahhhhhh's,  and What's that deliciousness?" 

 I'm making it to go along with my garlic toast and NY strip love feast tomorrow, and I suggest you do the same with whatever sort of  V-day festivities t you have planned, even if it's a love fest for one. Oh, and watch out for Cupid, that little creeper is all over the place.....