Mandarin Orange Spinach Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Dressing
1/3 cup salad oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
Salad
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups torn spinach (or any combination you'd like of romaine, iceburg, spinach etc.)
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup sliced green onion (or sometimes I use red onion)
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained

Preparation

In a jar, combine all ingredients for the dressing.
Shake well and refrigerate for at least one hour to blend flavours.
(I make it the night before) In a heavy skillet, cook almonds and sugar over medium heat until sugar melts and coats almonds, stirring frequently.
Cool.
Break apart if necessary.
In large bowl, combine spinach, celery and green onions.
Just before serving, add almonds and orange segments.
Toss gently.
Pour dressing over salad and toss.
P.S.I always double the amount of almonds because they really add a wonderful flavour to the salad-- and because some mysteriously disappear before they make it to the salad!