I have a few rules when creating a recipe. One of them is the food I make has to offer at least one surprise in the mouth. Familiar tastes, sure, but it needs a kind of U-turn if you will from what you expected. There is nothing more exciting to a chef, or a wanna be chef, than seeing the person eating your food raise their eyebrows in surprise and exclaim, “…now that is really good! What’s the other flavor I’m getting? ….(nom, nom…) yah..really good.”

Enter the sweet, easy to peel, pass-me-another-section-please mandarin orange.

Those cute little fruits are just my passion this season. Aside from their beautiful shape and color, I find myself thinking of ways I can use them in just about every kind of food there is. It’s not difficult, really something orange, or orange flavor fits every ethnic expression, from appetizers, to main course foods, to desserts. And in this case I love using citrus fruits to make vinaigrettes. Zingy yet sweet vinaigrettes. Like the one in this Quinoa salad that uses Olive Crate’s Honey Balsamic Vinegar, and Penzeys Singapore seasoning. Looking for a U-turn? This one is full of it. Click to read the ingredients of the Penzeys seasoning, and you’ll want some NOW. 

If you Google benefits of orange oil, you get all kinds of exciting results. It claims to be an anti-inflammatory, an antidepressant, antispasmodic, antiseptic, aphrodisiac, carminative, diuretic, tonic, sedative, and a cholagogic substance. (Yeah, I didn’t get that last one either. No worries…pass me another mandarin section, please..)

The good news is, what I did create here met all my criteria. Yummy, blingy, (meaning danged gorgeous on your plate,) exciting flavors, and healthy as well. And since another benefit might be fighting Alzheimer’s, you’ll never forget to make this dish again and again and again… and again.