Asian Pear-Chevre Salad with Maple-Dijon Dressing & Toasted Pine Nuts

If you’re having guests over, this Asian-Pear Chevre Salad is an impressive tasting dinner salad. The combination of Asian pear, chevre (goat cheese), pine nuts and a sweet and tangy maple-dijon dressing are really a great combination together. Later on in this post I’ll be talking about my sons’ new adventure, which has absolutely nothing to do with the salad recipe I’m going to share. In fact my husband just came in the room and said, “What does Hardmill have to do with sharing a recipe?” “Nothing”, I answered back, “but this is a blog and that’s what I do, blog, blog, blog about whatever.” “Is that like blah, blah, blah,” he said. ‘Yeah, something like that”, I answered back. If you are looking for a nice spring salad to whip up, this is quick and easy and restaurant quality.

When you toast your pine nuts under the broiler, keep a careful eye on them. The nuts brown very quickly and they are much to expensive to burn!

You can purchase pine nuts by clicking here.

The combination of the rice vinegar with the maple syrup is awesome, but add in the mustard and olive oil and you have a perfect salad dressing.

Chevre is a creamy goat cheese found in most deli or cheese sections. Garnish with thin slices of red onion of toasted pine nuts and drizzle with the maple-dijon dressing. Click here for my gluten-free croutons recipe, which you also may enjoy on this salad.

Asian Pear-Chevre Salad with Maple-Dijon

Dressing & Toasted Pine Nuts

1/2 small red onion (slice in thin rings)

1/3 c chevre (goat cheese)

1/2 c toasted pine nuts

4 c mixed baby greens

1 Asian pear thinly sliced

(Dressing)

3 Tbsp Rice vinegar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 c olive oil

salt & pepper

I recently shared this recipe on thisgalcooks, realfoodforager, simplysugarandglutenfree, deliciousobsessions, glutenfreehomemaker, thewellfedhomestead, vegetarianmamma, LadyBehindTheCurtain AnyonitaNibbles, AllergyFreeWednesday, CreationsbyKara, GingerSnapCrafts, AllergyFreeAlaska, SodaPopAve, TheChickenChick, AlderBerryHill

Today is a very proud day for me. Our two sons, who live together in Seattle, have been working for about a year now to launch a business together. Today is their launch! This is what America was founded on, people working with their hands, long tiresome hours, to produce products that would give them a better life. I love that that entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and strong in my sons today.

I wouldn’t be truthful if I said I wasn’t scared for my boys. I am, because I know what it takes to run a profitable business. Twenty-seven years ago we started our own business and it’s very hard work. But they have that same fighting spirit and optimism that their dad has, and a very high quality men’s apron, so I’m excited to watch their business grow from the ground up.

On May 1, 2013 Hardmill is born. You can check out their website here: www.hardmill.com.

UPDATE: Sept. 15, 2013 Hardmill hits the front page of Yahoo shopping insider!  http://shopping.yahoo.com/insider/;_ylt=AtgjN4VpdZp8fzwYhnXgLANH.MUu