A holiday way with spinach salad

• With the holiday just around the corner, I have bunches of cranberries around. Even though most of my family is not a big fan of the little red treats, I love them and use the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to include them in as many recipes as I can.
• Some studies have shown that cranberry juice significantly increases the antioxidant capacity of plasma. It has also been shown to be an ideal treatment for urinary tract infections.
• In addition to the fresh berries I have for the cranberry sauce and cranberry mango jam I made, I had dried cranberries on hand for the white chocolate cranberry cookies. As I contemplated some other recipes before lunch, I decided to make myself a salad.
• I love spinach salad with strawberries, so I decided to try the same with dried cranberries instead of the sweeter berries just to see how it tasted. Even if you are not a really big fan of cranberries, you might really like this so give it a try when you're feeling a bit adventurous. 
• Spinach Cranberry Salad
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
• 1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

     •In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
     •In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
     •In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil.
     •Toss with spinach just before serving.