Red Onion and Poppy Vinaigrette

Now that the weather is spring-ing up, we've been walking down to the park near our home. It's a fun walk and a great park because of the bridge and creek that provide endless diversion. Anyway, last week at said park we met an Australian woman and her two kids and we were talking about how she's adjusting to life in the US. She made some very funny and insightful comments about our health care system, which horrifies her, and our public school system, which delights her. "So," she says, "you're educating your kids enough so they know they're getting ripped off!" She also commented that the food here was hard to get used to because everything is so sweet. My sister-in-law and fellow Aussie has made comments similar to that and is always searching for bread with out sugar. To prove them right, here is a fabulous new recipe I was given that sugars up your raw veggies. Seriously, this is a very, very yummy salad dressing and it turns out a beautiful pink color perfect for spring. I modified this from Sarah's (thanks, Sarah!) original recipe to suit my tastes. Enjoy!


Red Onion and Poppy Vinaigrette

• 1/2 of a large red onion, coarsely chopped
• scant 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until onions are pureed.