Up Your Salad Game: Homemade Croutons

There’s bread, and then there’s good bread. A piece of sandwich bread from the grocery store is night and day from a fresh rustic loaf from a legitimate bakery. This is the bread I’m talking about. In order to make awesome homemade croutons, you need awesome bread. I’m not a big bread consumer in general. But like The Most Interesting Man says: I do not always eat bread, but when I do, it’s good bread. So go out there and get your self a loaf of damn good bread, and let’s make some salad magic.

Homemade Croutons

1/2 loaf amazing bread (rustic sourdough, French, brown country loaf, etc), cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic (optional)

Put cubed bread you’re not eating into plastic bag and freeze for future use. In a skillet heat olive oil until rippling. Add garlic if using, and stir briefly before adding in cubed bread. Let bread brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool briefly on paper towels. Top pre-dressed salad with handful of croutons.

Portland for the Weekend

I had an impromptu trip to Portland this past weekend to visit my mama, John and little Stelly Bean.

 

It was a much needed chill-out. Lots of cooking, walking, coffee drinking and chatting over glasses of wine. And maybe a little shopping…including but not limited to an iPad mini <3 Gotta love the no-sales-tax thing. So far, my favorite perk of the iPad is the camera. It kicks my Cannon’s butt. Below are some of the meals we had over the weekends with links to the recipes:

Fig old fashioned with balsamic, orange and maple from The Kitchn.

The salad of the month from Food & Wine.

Shredded chicken tacos with black bean, corn, avocado and tomato salsa.

Slow-cooked pulled pork sandwiches with eastern North Carolina barbecue sauce and simple slaw and a side of Southern caviar.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

1 tablespoon butter
2.5 lbs. boneless pork shoulder
1 TBS Cajun seasoning
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 cups water (or 1 cup beef/chicken stock + 1 cup water)
2 cups chicken or beef broth
1 TBS liquid smoke

brioche buns
barbecue sauce
simple slaw (cabbage, plain yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper)

Cut the pork into large chunks, season and brown on all sides in the melted butter. Transfer to slow cooker. Add onion and garlic to pan, cook for a few minutes till tender. Stir the liquid into pan, scrape bottom. Pour everything into slow cooker and add liquid smoke. Cover and cook till tender, 9-10 hours on low. Remove from cooker--shred pork serve on brioche buns with slaw and whatever barbecue sauce you like best. *My fav is an eastern North Carolina vinegar based bbq sauce.

Heavenly banana cake, a China's Plate oldie.

Anecdote: I had an authentic Portlandia experience when ordering a cup of coffee on Saturday morning. While waiting in line at the corner coffee shop, two men were debating the best, most New Jersey-style (apparently the home of the original bagel) bagel shops in town, which led to the best/most creative donut shop debate shortly after. I ordered my medium cup of regular coffee, and was told the entire life story of not only the coffee beans, but the story of ownership of forest where the coffee bean trees grow and the dates of the 2-3 day long harvest when beans are picked at their prime – completely unsolicited. I responded with: wow. no room for cream, thanks.

Keep Portland weird xo

Healthy Weekend Lunch & Tilapia Meunière with Caper, Tomato & Olive Sauce

I love the idea of brunch as much as the next guy. But in practice, it really throws my day off. Bottomless mimosas and hollandaise do serious damage to my energy level and willpower.

Weekends are my healthiest days of the week – walking all over the city, shopping at the farmer’s market, taking time to prepare each meal and no time for boredom snacking. My adventure this Sunday was a walk up to Coit Tower. My inspiration for Sunday’s lunch was this roasted red pepper and eggplant sauce from Trader Joe’s. At 15 little calories a tablespoon, you can kinda go crazy.

White Bean, Red Pepper & Arugula Salad
Serves 2

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 ear fresh corn, cut off the cob
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cup pea shoots
1 handful of arugula
2-3 tablespoons red pepper and eggplant sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
dash balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
fresh parsley, chopped

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and season to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Arguably, this is not really fish meunière at all. The recipe calls for white wine and all I had was cabernet sauvignon. Though very different tasting than the original, it was still delicious and briny.

The original recipe by Giada can be found here. I only substituted the white wine for red, and obviously used fish rather than chicken. The fish was served over multicolored quinoa with chopped bell pepper.

Shrimp Tacos with Raw Brussels Sprout, Honey Crisp & Pomegranate Salad

Light meals are few and far between in the holiday season. Tomorrow morning we’re prepping a pork roast for an all day, slow cooked, glorious stew…light it is not. So, to balance the scale, we made shrimp tacos with a fruity salad. I’ve been wanting to try a raw Brussels sprout salad, so this was my chance.

How nifty that you can eat Brussels sprouts without cooking them? The tricks are to thinly slice the sprouts, cutting out the tough center, and dressing them at least 20 minutes before serving.

Brussels Sprouts, Honey Crisp & Pomegranate Salad

15 Brussels sprouts, bottoms removed and thinly sliced
1 Honey Crisp (or other sweet apple) thinly sliced
1/2 cup pomegranate arils

1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine sprouts with fruit in a large bowl. Stir all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl, then drizzle over salad. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Yogurt Sauce

1/2 pound medium size shrimp, shells removed and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, juiced (divided)
dash cayenne
1 avocado, sliced
1 tomato, diced
6 small corn tortillas

2/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, diced – plus extra as topping
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the yogurt sauce and chill until ready to top your tacos.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and add shrimp. Sprinkle shrimp with cayenne and lime juice while they cook. Once the shrimp turn pink, remove from heat (about 2-3 minutes).

In another skillet, brush tortillas with olive oil and heat until lightly brown. Top tortillas with shrimp, avocado, tomato, yogurt sauce and cilantro.

Salmon, Dill & Avocado Potato Salad

Another reason to move to CA. Exhibit A: Amazing avocados, only $0.89/ea.

Put that ‘ish in anything and everything. It was the shining star in this potato salad. I picked up the missing ingredients from a couple grocery stores on my walk home from work. Yep, walk home from work. It’s my new approach to working out. You kill multiple birds with one stone: grocery shopping, exercise, commuting. A 1.3 mile walk home is hardly a workout, you say? It is when you’re essentially rock climbing up the streets of San Francisco with a gym bag and groceries.

But enough patting myself on the back. This recipe is great. Easy, delicious and healthy. The cooking trifecta.

Salmon, Dill & Avocado Potato Salad

4 red potatoes
4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 green onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup cooked red quinoa
salt and pepper
dash cayenne

Arugula and additional lemon juice *optional

In a medium pot, boil red potatoes for 15-17 minutes or until tender. Dice potatoes into 1” chunks. In a large bowl, combine salmon, cucumber, avocado, potatoes and quinoa. In a small bowl, combine yogurt with lemon juice, green onion and dill. Add yogurt mixture to bowl with potato mixture and toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with cayenne and extra dill. Serve over a bed of arugula or by itself.

WLC: Day 3 ~ Kale Slaw & Updated Beet Soup

I don’t know if it’s the lack of carbs or the lack of caffeine, but I am exhausted. Walking up the stairs to my apartment this afternoon I had high aspirations of going for a walk, and later meeting friends for Taco Tuesday (to watch them eat), but by the time I got to the stop of the stairs I knew I wasn’t coming back down until tomorrow. Besides, I had to make my kale slaw to pack for lunch.

Kale Slaw

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
2 cups kale, stems removed, shredded
2 cup red cabbage, shredded
2 tablespoon diced red onion
1 large carrot, julienned
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

In a small bowl, mix olive oil, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine vegetables, then drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with seeds.

As planned, dinner was roasted garlic and beet soup with a side of sautéed zucchini and carrots. I kicked the soup up a crucial notch by stirring in about 1/2 cup corn kernels and a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar, which added a some much needed texture and bite. Half way done with the WLC… no sweat.

Garden Tuna Pasta Salad

The way I’m able to resist all of the amazing, creative, tempting restaurants in SF and Piedmont is to make a regimented cooking calendar for the week and have the necessary groceries on hand. I’m proud to say that this week I’ve stuck to my schedule. Tonight was a pasta salad with the remaining vegetables in the fridge and can of tuna, all combined with a Greek yogurt dressing. It was light and flavorful, with enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Win-win.

In my regimented calendar, along with the dinner menu, are my packed lunch menu and outfit schedule. Now that I get my work email on my phone, my outlook calendar is synched with my Google calendar and I am just pleased as punch to have my little life completely organized at my finger tips. It takes a lot of pressure of my brain having to remember things if I can just have everything I need to do/eat/wear push-notified to me 10 minutes prior. Am I crazy or progressive?

Garden Tuna Pasta Salad

1/2 pound cheese tortellini
1 can white meat tuna, drained
1/4 zucchini, sliced thinly
1/2 avocado, diced
cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon capers
kalamata olives, diced
fresh basil, chopped
parmesan cheese
handful of mixed greens, per serving

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sriracha
1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Cook tortellini per package instructions. Combine the ingredients from tuna through olives in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine ingredients for sauce and taste to make sure no adjustments are needed. Toss in pasta to large bowl, then stir in sauce. Finally mix in basil and top with parmesan cheese. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate.

Skirt Steak Sandwiches with Horseradish Yogurt Sauce & Chopped Summer Vegetable Salad

When I was sitting in my hot (!) little African room for hours on end, waiting for my dinner of plain rice and a hard boiled egg, I would make lists of all of the things I was excited to do when I got home. Since I’ve been back, literally a dream of mine comes true every hour. From sitting on my back porch with this fresh blended mango margarita:

To my fruit and veggie-packed lunch with homemade dill potato salad:

And this sandwich. I was inappropriately excited when biting into the soft bread, juicy tomato, charcoal grilled steak and tangy horseradish sauce… I don’t think I’m over it.

We also went a little nuts at the farmer’s market and splurged on a ton of vegetables to throw into our chopped vegetable salad. You could substitute or leave out any vegetable in this, then add feta and toss in the mint, cayenne and lime dressing. Brilliant. The next dream-come-true is that there are enough leftovers for lunch!

Skirt Steak Sandwiches with Horseradish Yogurt Sauce

(makes 4 sandwiches)
1.5 lbs skirt steak
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 teaspoon prepared horseradish, or to taste
ground black pepper

tomato, sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
avocado, sliced
Dijon or honey mustard
fresh ciabatta bread, sliced

Rub steak with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Grill until desired doneness. Let rest, then slice thinly. Spread bread with sauce and top with remaining ingredients.

Chopped Summer Vegetable Salad

carrots, julienned
china peas, diced
cucumber, diced
fennel bulb, shaved
bell pepper, diced
radishes, diced
sweet corn, sliced off cobb
celery, diced
green onions, chopped

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1-2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint

Combine all chopped vegetables into large bowl. Mix lime, olive oil, salt, and cayenne, then toss with vegetables. Add in crumbled feta, mint and pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Summer Vegetable Salad

Officially less than two weeks until I fly to Ghana! The excitement is almost outweighed by the anxiety of all that I have to do to prepare for that trip BUT that won’t stop me from spending as much time as I can with my DC friends and cooking delicious food.

I think I could subsist on summer salads. Two of my favorite things: summer and salads. If you think about it, when asked to pick one food to eat for the rest of your life, you should say salad. What can’t be a salad? Chopped up vegetables mixed together with lemon juice? Check. Chopped up fruit mixed with honey and yogurt? Check. Boiled potatoes mixed with mayonnaise and hard boiled eggs? Check. Pasta mixed with herbs and cheese? Just chill it and Check! It becomes a salad. You get my point…

The beauty of this salad is that the ingredients speak for themselves. There’s no need for a dressing besides a little lemon juice, salt and pepper. And the vegetables are substitutable. Don’t have cucumber? Use red pepper. No beans? No sweat. (I should be a cheerleader for summer salads)

Summer Vegetable Salad

1/2 avocado, diced
1 vine ripe tomato, diced
1 ear sweet corn, cut off cob
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water and the ear of corn to a boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from pot and pat dry before cutting kernels off cob into a large bowl. Add remaining diced vegetables to the bowl and toss with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve. Though great on its own, fresh basil would be a good addition to this recipe.

Crabs, Quinoa and Boxed Brownies

I had the luxury of getting to go play in Annapolis this weekend and pick crabs for the first time. Apparently “picking crabs” does not mean looking into a tank, picking your favorite, and getting it made into a crab cake. You actually attack the steamed crabs with a mallet and shiv, put in a heck of a lot of effort, and smell like crab for the next 24 hours for an incredibly delicious, albeit precious, amount of crab meat. It's pretty awesome. I managed to fill up off of 3 extra large crabs... with the help of liquid butter, hush puppies, fries, sweet potato fries and oysters. If you're in the area, Cantler's is worth checking out.

Because it's Monday, a couple of us got together at my house for wine, Bach and brownies. I planned ahead and made a healthy dinner to even the score a little. I had a southwestern quinoa salad and stuffed sweet potato.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

black quinoa, cooked
corn
mushrooms
black beans
cherry tomatoes, halved
spinach/spring mix
feta cheese
avocado
cucumber
salsa
Greek yogurt
salt and pepper

Stuffed Sweet Potato

1 sweet potato
1 ounce goat cheese
craisins
green apple, diced
sprinkle olive oil
salt and pepper

In my opinion, there is one baked good that is not worth your time to make from scratch. That is brownies. They are almost always better when made from a box. But not any box - the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownies. Make sure you have a lot of friends around when you decide to make these because leftover brownies don't exist. 

I have this weird need to eat dessert with a spoon, so I put my molten lava scoop of brownie (waiting until they cool to cut is not necessary) in a ramekin with Greek yogurt and a little peanut butter. And the addiction is resuscitated…

Apple Cran Bulgur & Kale Citrus Salad

I must have missed cooking a lot. I always feel that way after a huge trip to the grocery store. It’s a great feeling starting off the new year with a packed fridge and overflowing fruit bowl, with a calendar of healthy meals planned. The plan is to cut out meat and as many animal products (eggs, dairy- with a few exceptions) as I can, mainly because it will force me to get creative for meals and try new things. Oh my gosh…speaking of meat, I read about the lawsuit against Taco Bell for serving “beef” that’s only 35% actual beef. It fell short of the “minimum FDA requirements of beef to be labeled beef”. Ummm…why isn’t the minimum 100%? And why am I just now hearing about this? So sneaky.

So here’s some real food for ya.

Apple, Cranberry & Mint Bulgur

1/2 cup bulgur
1 cup water
1/2 apple, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
8-10 sugar snap peas, chopped
1/4 cup mint, minced
sprinkle of feta cheese
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil cup of water and pour over bulgur in a large bowl and cover for 30 minutes. Drain and add all of the ingredients and toss. I roasted a squash to go with the bulgur salad, but it would have been delicious on it’s own too.

Kale salad is the same recipe from a few days ago. Raw kale, half an orange, goat cheese, pecans and a squeeze of lemon and olive oil. Yum!

Baked Spiced Fish, Raw Kale Salad & Roasted Delicata Squash

We don’t have too many traditions in our family, but a puzzle at Christmas has been pretty consistent. This year, the puzzle was extremely appropriate.

For my last meal at home, we made an Indian baked spiced fish, raw kale salad and roasted maple delicata squash. Traditionally, I don’t love Indian food, but I may have to revisit that opinion because this recipe was delicious. And every other item in this dinner, for that matter. I don’t usually post every part of the menu, but tonight every part was deserving. *Fish recipe from Complete Indian Cooking.

Baked Spiced Fish

4 tablespoons oil
4 ounces shredded coconut
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 tablespoons lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 pounds code or white fish steaks
salt

Heat oil in a pan, add the coconut, ginger, onion, chilies, garlic, jalapeno, and chili powder and fry gently until the onion is translucent. Add the cilantro, lemon juice, and salt to taste and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the coconut is soft.

Oil the bottom of a baking dish just large enough to hold the fish. Arrange the fish steaks side by side and pour over the spice mixture.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until the cod steaks are cooked through.

Roasted Maple Delicata Squash

2 delicata squashes, halved and scooped out
4 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and brown sugar and 1/2 tablespoon butter to each squash half and place in a small pan. Pour 1 cup of water around the squash in the pan and bake at 400 for 1 hour.

Raw Kale and Citrus Salad

1 bunch kale, Chiffonade the leaves (thinly chopped)
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
3 clementines, peeled, sectioned and halved
1 handful toasted pine nuts

1 lemon, juiced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Mix salad dressing together and dress salad 5-10 minutes before serving. * Recipe adapted from Lincoln restaurant in Portland, OR.

Baked Salmon & Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Hope everyone had a lovely Tuesday. I was feeling a bit eager to get through the work day because of all the things to look forward to when I got home. A good work out, my painting, a delicious dinner, a new episode of Glee. So much to do, so little time!

I've long been a fan of Ina Garten's Warm Goat Cheese Salad with the breaded and fried goat cheese rounds. To make it a meal, I flaked a salmon fillet that I baked with salt, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice and put it on top of the salad. Dressed it up with a Dijon vinaigrette. 

On the side, I had homemade hummus and sweet potato chips I baked last night. Having a mandolin comes in handy! I just thinly sliced a sweet potato, drizzled the slices with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika, then baked them at 450 for 20 minutes. 

Baked Salmon & Warm Goat Cheese Salad

     1 salmon fillet
     salt and pepper
     cayenne
     squeeze of lemon

     2 slices of goat cheese
     1 egg white
     bread crumbs
     olive oil

     spinach
     cucumber
     sugar snap peas
     carrot, ribbons
     avocado slices

     2 tablespoon olive oil
     1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
     1 teaspoon cider vinegar
     1 clove garlic, minced
     1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
     squeeze lemon juice
     salt and pepper
     (fresh dill would be great in this too)

Sprinkle salmon with juice, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Coat goat cheese slices with egg white and bread crumbs. Fry on each side for about 2 minutes, until bread crumbs are brown. Assemble and dress salad.

Healthy Living

I turned a page a few weeks ago to focus on what’s best for me. I kicked this off with a whole house cleaning. Since I’ve started running a lot more – with the plan to do an 8K in December. Seeing friends and branching out. Playing music loudly. Starting a new painting for my room. And now, eating healthfully. Though I consider myself a pretty healthy eater, my weakness is sugar. The three candy bowls at work don’t help. At all. So I’ve decided to kick that addiction, and have desserts when they’re actually worth it.

After a trip to Target and A.C. Moore, I threw everything but the kitchen sink into my salad. Spinach, sliced apple, sugar snap peas, red onion, cucumber, avocado, craisins, and feta topped with homemade vinaigrette. Carrots and celery with sunflower seed butter on the side.

As for the painting, I’m recreating Monet’s Water Lilies.

For dinner, I made a batch of hummus. It’s cheaper than buying it and it makes a ton.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 16 ounce can garbanzo beans
Juice from one small lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
3-4 large chunks roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. Turn food processor on and stream in olive oil through the spout, blend until creamy. Taste to make sure it doesn’t need anything!

The hummus and veggie sticks accompanied the main dish, quinoa with vegetables and fried tofu in balsamic vinaigrette.

Red Quinoa with Tofu & Vegetables in Balsamic Dressing

1 cup red quinoa
2 ounces firm tofu, cubed
Garlic salt
Cayenne pepper
Basil flakes
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large carrot, grated to ribbons
Handful sugar snap peas, quartered
1/2 cucumber, sliced
Feta cheese
Balsamic vinaigrette
Salt and pepper
Avocado slices (if you happen to have it around)

In a small pot, add quinoa and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and add tofu. Fry for 4-5 minutes, dusting with the garlic salt, cayenne pepper, basil flakes. salt and pepper to taste. Combine all the chopped vegetables, tofu and cooked quinoa in a bowl. Add feta and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. If it needs more punch, add a little balsamic vinegar. Top with avocado.

YUM.

Being self centered can actually feel pretty damn good.

Tortellini Salad + Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I can’t believe it’s already my last night in Portland. I thought I just made that annoying trip across the country? When my mom and I were at a loss for things to do this afternoon, I suggested the old stand-by: happy hour. That hour happened to be 4pm.

Did I mention we opened the place? We tried to kill time by driving around Mount Tabor (a volcano) that’s right up the street. The bar was fittingly called Caldera Public House, tying in the volcano theme.

I applaud them for their creative drink menu: Marionberry Drop and Tamarind Fizz.

We got crackin’ on the tortellini salad and strawberry rhubarb crisp when we got home. Cooking dinner is infinitely more efficient when you have a sous chef to divide and conquer.

Mom diced the veggies and baked the chicken for the colorful tortellini salad, adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Tortellini Salad

10 ounce package cheese tortellini
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced*
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup balsamic dressing (simple balsamic vinaigrette or bottled)
salt and pepper

Prep vegetables and chicken while pasta is cooking. Combine all ingredients and toss in vinaigrette to coat.

While my mom made dinner, I worked on the crisp.

We popped it in the oven before we sat down to dinner, and it was ready when we finished.

It’s the best when it’s in between piping hot and warm, topped with vanilla ice cream. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks Skinny Taste!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 pound rhubarb (5-6 stalks), 1 inch slices
juice and zest from half an orange
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch (I forgot this and it was fine)

1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, not packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
pinch of salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Add strawberries and rhubarb to an oven safe baking dish. Add orange, honey and cornstarch to fruit, and mix to coat. Combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Top fruit with oat mixture and bake for 40 minutes, until it’s bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes.

White Bean Tuna Salad & Goat Cheese Cherry Bruschetta

It’s a miracle. I made it home in one piece and on the right date. Air travel is always a gamble. I didn’t help anything by showing up at the wrong airport. DC has too many airports! It could happen to anyone, probably. The breakdown/stressball that I became during the mad dash from Dulles to Reagan was fun for everyone…especially that toll booth man I screamed at. That was unnecessary.

I just had to get home. It’d been over 5 months! It felt amazing waking up in my own bed - minus the small stress hangover – and going for a nice long run to get my engines back to neutral.

Mom and I had a celebratory lunch at Meriwethers in my favorite Portland neighborhood. Super cute outdoor patio and their produce is grown on their own 5 acre farm nearby.



We split the nectarine, tomato, ricotta and prosciutto salad.

And the most delectable Reuben sandwich ever. I couldn’t even speak when the waiter asked us “how everything was tasting”. Is it just me, or do other people get rendered speechless when eating amazing food? The homemade Russian dressing with little pickles was on point.

There was shopping, napping, dog walking and other productive activities like that, before we started on dinner. My mom’s cherry and goat cheese bruschetta (originally a Whole Foods recipe) is brilliant. And a million times more fun to make when you have a cherry pitter.



This could become a really daunting appetizer without a cherry pitter.

Sisters hard at work.

Goat Cheese & Cherry Bruschetta

6 crusty bread slices,toasted
4 ounces goat cheese
2 cups cherries, pitted and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
handful fresh mint, chopped

Mix cherries, orange juice and mint together and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Spread goat cheese on toasted bread, then top with cherry mixture.

Purrty rainbow tomatoes to go into Giada’s White Bean Tuna Salad.

White Bean Tuna Salad

2 6 ounce cans white meat tuna, packed in water
2 15 ounce cans cannelini white beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup small capers
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
6 fresh basil leaves, julienned
2 cups arugula
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Add first five ingredients to a large bowl. Toss together and let flavors marry while you chop the vegetables. Add onion, tomatoes and basil to mixture and toss to combine. Mix lemon juice and olive oil, then dress the arugula. Plate tuna salad over a bed of the arugula salad. 

Lots of yummy recipes and restaurants to come!

PS. Why is it that the most amazing food is found on the west coast? Maybe it's the weather.