springy panzanella

Spring always seems to bring surprises: a surprisingly warm day, a shockingly blue sky, a sudden and unexpected torrential downpour. Or, the unforeseen dilemma of your over-sized child who is not even two learning to climb out of his crib. Repeatedly. Until about midnight. 

Which resulted in the dreaded switch: crib to big boy bed.

We made a family Ikea trip on Saturday afternoon, which was uncharacteristically empty due to the beautiful weather. When we got home James and I headed to the park while Lane assembled the Gulliver, Vyssa, and Smila (love those Swedish names).

By the time we returned from our park trip, Lane had disassembled baby crib and put the big boy bed together. It was late and we were hungry.

Luckily, this panzanella was super easy to throw together. When we finally got around to eating it, however, it was after eight and dark outside, so the pictures are not so great. But trust me on the taste: springy, flavorful, and satisfying.

Springy Panzanella

For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp good dijon mustard (I use Annie's organic)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

For the salad:
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 thinly sliced radishes
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends removed and steamed until barely tender, but still very crisp
1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
1/2 cup olives (I used black, Kalamata would also be delish)

For the croutons:
4 cups leftover artisan bread, cut into bite sized cubes
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 smashed garlic cloves
sprinkle of salt
1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese

Combine vinaigrette ingredients, whisking well. Mix in the radishes and red onions so that they are submerged in the vinaigrette. Allow to sit for an hour or so.

Take one smashed garlic clove and smear it over a baking sheet. Discard the clove.
To make the croutons, melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add two of the smashed garlic cloves and cook until fragrant. Add the bread cubes and 2 tbsp olive oil. Toss to coat the bread. Sprinkle with a little salt. Discard the garlic cloves and spread bread cubes over prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with asiago cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes (this a complete guess, I forgot to write down the baking time and temp!), or until cheese is melted and bread cubes are browned. Allow to cool before adding to salad.

Combine the steamed asparagus, olives, and artichoke hearts in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette and pickled onions and radishes. Toss well. Add bread cubes just before serving and toss again. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Enjoy.

Basil and Kalamata Olive Egg Salad

Every once in a while, my husband I joke about how we wish we were the type of people who looked at food as fuel, and nothing else. As these non-foodie people we would have much more disciplined work-out routines and we would eat chicken breasts, brown rice, and steamed broccoli for dinner.

But, let's face it, we are not those people by any stretch of the imagination. We like food. He likes red meat. I like butter and sugar creamed together and baked. Despite my indulgences, I do crave semi-healthy food on a regular basis. I don't usually blog about it, because does anyone really want to know about roasted veggies that haven't been smothered in cheese or salad without bacon on it?

My latest semi-healthy craving has been egg salad. I can't stop thinking about it since I had the basil egg salad on kalamata olive bread at Grand Central Bakery. I made up my own version with kalamata olives in the egg salad. They add just the right amount of saltiness. In an effort to stick with a healthful theme I ate some of it over a bed of lettuce. However, if you don't share my present convictions, I wholeheartedly encourage you to eat it on a slice of toasted ciabatta.

Basil and Kalamata Olive Egg Salad
inspired by Grand Central Bakery
this recipe only made about two servings, but it could easily be multiplied

5 hard-boiled eggs
2 tbsp mayo (I used the olive-oil based kind)
1 tbsp good dijon mustard (I love Annie's Organic)
4 or 5 kalamata olives, sliced
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
black pepper to taste

Peel and roughly chop up eggs, place in a bowl. Add mayo and mustard, mix well. Stir in olives, and gently stir in basil. Season to taste with pepper. Enjoy.


P.S. What is everyone making for Santa this year? I can't decide on a cookie, and I need to stop "testing" every recipe I see. I must make something really good since I am asking him for a house in NE Portland for Christmas... any suggestions?

Grapefruit, cheddar, and bacon salad with honey vinaigrette

Okay, here's the order of business: let's talk about the new blog look, and then about the salad.

First of all, the new look of the blog. Not my doing at all. My gorgeous and incredibly talented and creative friend, Jennifer, sent me an email a few days ago asking if she could help to make my blog pretty (everything she touches becomes more beautiful, and I'm not just saying that because she made my blog look like this) and here was my exact response: "Ummm... yes! Are you kidding? YES! That would be AMAZING!"

And so, we played a couple rounds of Pimp My Blog (does anyone get that reference?) and here we are. I may have shed a tear when I saw it.

So, next subject: the salad. I was meal planning while eating a grapefruit, and I suddenly wanted to have my grapefruit on a bed of lettuce, with a drizzle of honey to combat the tartness. Cheese was an obvious addition, but the dish quickly forming in my mind was still lacking something. I really hesitated on the bacon, as I feel it has been a bit over-used to spice up any old dish -"Chicken noodle soup... with bacon!" "Beans and rice...with bacon!" "Vanilla ice cream... with bacon!" -it just gets old. But when I made this salad, I was so glad I added the bacon. The smokiness perfectly balances the other flavors.

Oh, by the way, I found a use for the leftover ravioli filling from this recipe. I boiled some red potatoes, then mashed them with a little broth and added the filling. I also added green onions. And maybe also a little bacon.

Grapefruit, cheddar, and bacon salad with honey vinaigrette
serves two as a main dish
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
2 tbsp honey (or more if desired)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
sploosh red wine (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 freshly ground pepper
2 slices bacon (I used turkey bacon)
6 cups romaine or red leaf lettuce
1/2 cup of cubed sharp cheddar cheese
1 grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, and pulled into bite-sized pieces

Place onion in a small bowl. Pour honey, olive oil, vinegar, and red wine if desired over the onions, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir together and set aside for at least a half hour.

Meanwhile, cook bacon until crispy and assemble other ingredients. Crumble bacon once cooled. Split lettuce between two plates, and top each with half the bacon crumbles, cheese cubes, and grapefruit pieces. Top salad with some red onion slices, then whisk vinaigrette welling before pouring a couple tbsp of dressing over top of the salad. Enjoy.

Pear, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry-Ginger Vinaigrette

This was one of those weekends that I need a weekend to recover from. Saturday was busy with "work" and a housewarming party (sadly, not our housewarming), Sunday we tried out a new church and then I co-hosted a baby shower.
Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of time for cooking. Conveniently, I have been craving my favorite salad combination, so we ate a lot of these salads over the weekend.

This salad always reminds me of Thanksgiving because, in past Thanksgivings with my in-laws, I have been asked to bring a green salad. I think this because I married into a family of fabulous cooks, and so they know how to prepare all the main dishes really well. Therefore, I get stuck bringing the boring green salad.

My first Thanksgiving with the new family, I decided I was going to wow them with a salad that, although it met the "green salad" specifications, was also creative, delicious, and pretty. This was when I stumbled upon a pear, walnut, and blue cheese salad with cranberry vinaigrette from Cooking Light. After doing a bit of tweaking, I brought a salad that I thought could not fail. I thought for sure by the next year I would be asked to bring the turkey. I had forgotten that fruit, cheese, and salad greens together are not a favorite combination among my in-laws. Oops.

This year, I have insisted on not bringing the green salad (but I still need to figure out what the heck I am making). I have volunteered to bring some sort of green vegetable dish, a dessert, and Lane is making cranberry sauce. For the dishes I am making, I am thinking perhaps something like this and this.

If your family, friends, and/or in-laws ask you to bring a green salad to your Thanksgiving feast, I highly recommend gracing the table with this one. It is sure to be a hit. Unless, of course, they don't like fruit in their salad, in which case you can keep the salad all for yourself.
(But watch out, or some little person may try to steal the salad toppings while you are taking pictures of it:)

Pear, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry-Ginger Vinaigrette
Makes 2/3 cup dressing and about 6-8 side salads
For the Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp grated or very finely minced ginger
pinch salt
For the Salad:
1 head of romaine lettuce (about 8 to 10 cups)
2 pears, sliced and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/3 cup blue cheese (try to get the least-smokey one you can find)
1/3 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
To prepare the vinaigrette, whisk the ingredients together.
To make the salad, divide all the lettuce up equally between the plates, then evenly divide toppings. Top with vinaigrette just before serving. Enjoy.

Simple Summer Salad

When I first decided to start a food blog I couldn't wait for the summer months so that I could show case summer produce in all its glory through fabulous recipes and photos (what can I say? I was young and foolish. Ah, to be 24 again!).

However, I haven't really been doing that. There was one burger, and quite a bit of sugar, but not too many fresh veggies. I will blame it on how crazy busy this summer has been already, making the ratio of Costco trips to Farmer's Market trips about twenty to one. That's not good odds. (I really should do CSA, then I would have a huge box of seasonal, local produce waiting for me to pick up every week.)

As a result of our hectic schedule, we have been eating a lot of easy and simple meals: teriyaki chicken with rice and steamed veggies, beans and rice thrown together with cilantro, red onion, and roasted corn- that sort of thing.
Oh, and a lot of grilled chicken salads.

Grilled chicken salads are our staple go-to meal during the hot summer months when no indoor heating appliance should be turned on. They are great because you can throw any veggies or cheese (or fruit) into them, and they taste deliciously fresh and healthy. We often grill up a couple extra chicken breasts that can be used later in the week, making the next meal easier also, because even a crazy busy summer should include leisurely suppers. 

Our last simple summer salad combo that I loved:

serves 2

2 large handfuls of spinach leaves

2 small to medium grilled chicken breasts, cut into slices and pre-seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon if desired

1 large or 3 mini bell peppers, sliced

1/2 cup sliced red onion

3 or 4 radishes, sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

a few slices of left over crostini bread, crumbled into bite-size pieces

dressing:

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1 grapefruit* 

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp honey

3 tbsp olive oil

Split veggies, chicken, cheese, and crostini croutons evenly onto two plates. 

Whisk juices, vinegar, honey, and oil well until honey dissolves into the liquid. Pour about 2 tbsp of the vinaigrette over each salad. Enjoy.

*I know, they are totally out of season, which is why I had to use it up, it had been sitting around for way too long. You could substitute a couple more lemons or maybe some limes instead. However, the grapefruit-honey-tart-sweet thing totally worked.