pear and pomegranate salad

i love salads because they're so versatile. and they're the perfect fix for a veggie slump.
am i the only one who has veggie slumps? you know...when you run out of veggies and fruits and at first its fun to just eat pizza and pasta but after a few days you're dying for a chance to go to the grocery store and buy nothing but produce. maybe it's just me. it's a ruthless cycle.
the things i crave first during a veggie slump are leafy greens, read: salad.

i also love the fruits that are in season during fall. for some reason, there's just something so sensuous about them. maybe its because they're all so juicy and red. my favorites are plums, pears, blood oranges, and pomegranates.

so what do you get when you combine my love of leafy greens, fall fruits, and a kitchen freshly stocked after a recent produce buying spree?

pear and pomegranate salad of course!

-about half a head of lettuce (preferably romaine, red leaf, or the curly kind)
-some variety of raspberry dressing
-candied walnuts
-the seeds from about half of a pomegranate
-one ripe pear, chopped
-these quantities make enough for two people to have a dinner sized salad, but quantities can be adjusted as seems appropriate. also, if you don't have pears or pomegranates on hand, you can use any combination of grapes, apples, plums, or whatever sounds good.

+place the lettuce (rinsed and spun) in a medium sized bowl
+toss with dressing
+top with pomegranate, pear, and walnuts

to make candied walnuts:

-about two cups of walnuts (chopped or crushed into smaller pieces)
-one cup sugar
-two tbs corn syrup (or i just used vegetable oil)
-a sprinkle of salt
-half a tbs vanilla if you like
-lots of cinnamon
-some ground pepper

+in a saucepan mix all ingredients except the walnuts
+heat on low until the sugar kind of dissolves
+then boil for 5 or 10 minutes
+remove from heat, stir in walnuts to coat, turn out on a cookie sheet and allow to cool (i stuck mine in the fridge).
+serve on salad, save the leftovers in a ziploc bag for next time