Warm salad dressing works any time of year. Just microwave the dressing for 5 to 10 seconds or so (test to see what works best with your microwave—you want warm, not hot). Then add the warm dressing to the salad and toss right before serving.

The classic warm dressing salad is a spinach salad with onions, mushrooms, bacon, hard-boiled egg slices and a warm bacon vinaigrette made from the bacon fat (recipe below). You can also add crumbled or cubed feta and/or croutons.

But the concept works with any salad. Last night we had a salad of baby greens, sliced sweet onion, goat cheese and croutons, tossed with a warm balsamic vinaigrette.

Try it!
 
RECIPE: WARM VINAIGRETTE

For A Bacon Vinaigrette

1. COOK 8 pieces of thick-sliced bacon (to crumble in the salad).

3. ADD salt and pepper to taste.

4. MICROWAVE for 5 to 10 seconds immediately prior to tossing and serving the salad.
 

For A Standard Warm Vinaigrette

1. SUBSTITUTE salad oil for bacon fat.

2. USE your vinegar of choice—wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar.

3. FOLLOW the remaining steps above.
 

Find more of our favorite salad recipes.
  

We admit it: We ate all the Hawaiian Punch
Splashers. Photo courtesy Farley’s & Sathers.

But how about a nice Hawaiian Punch fruit snack? How about gummy-like Hawaiian Punch Splashers,* filled with juice?

*Credit goes to Gushers liquid-filled fruit snacks, made by General Mills.

We raised an eyebrow when the new Hawaiian Punch and Mott’s snacks arrived at THE NIBBLE offices. We approach most kid-targeted, mass-produced foods warily.

But we enjoyed Hawaiian Punch Splashers so much, we hoarded them from the rest of the NIBBLE staff.

The two Hawaiian Punch snack varieties, Hawaiian Punch Splashers Fruit Snacks and Hawaiian Punch Fruit Snacks, include 100% DV of vitamin C and 90 calories per serving. Lowfat (and with no saturated fats), they deliver a big Hawaiian Punch of flavor. Both are equally tasty, but the revived kid in us prefers the splash of juice in the Splashers. Both products are available in nine-ounce boxes of 10 single serve pouches.

The products are produced by Farley’s & Sathers, a major manufacturer of candies including Brach’s, Chuckles, Heide, Jujyfruits and Jujubes, among other brands. Riding the wave of popularity of fruit snacks, a fast-growing category, the company has licensed the Hawaiian Punch and Motts brand names.

We found less flavor in the Mott’s Medleys Fruit Snacks, although we did enjoy the teeny, cube-shaped Motts For Tots Fruit Snacks. They’d make a fun garnish for ice cream or frozen yogurt.

What’s the difference?

 
A bit of cake history:

According to food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first to demonstrate advanced baking skills. The cakes of ancient times were very different: more bread-like, often with added nuts and dried fruits and sweetened with honey (think panettone). Medieval European bakers made fruitcakes and gingerbread.

Now, back to Father’s Day:

To paraphrase our friends at Pillsbury, nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven. What kind of cake should you bake for Father’s Day?

If you don’t know Dad’s favorite and you don’t want to ask, check out our recipes and Cake Glossary for inspiration.

FOOD TRIVIA: The word cake originated between 1200 and 1250 C.E. The term is a derivation of the Old Norse kaka, and is related to the Middle English kechel and the German Kuchen.
 
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAKES IN OUR CAKE GLOSSARY (PLENTY OF PHOTOS!)