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Blueberry chicken salad

Blueberry chicken salad

Saturday is my most favorite day of the week. I love being able to sleep late, drink some of my genius husband’s brilliant coffee, and go off on my weekly shopping run with my oldest son, Alex. Our first stop is always Clausen’s Bakery in Middleton for bread, buns, and whatever else looks irresistible. Lately they’ve been baking a Pain de Epi that is awesome…it has a crisp crust that maintains it’s tenderness and a nice, springy crumb…it’s my new favorite.

The next stop is the public library where we pick up our books, dvds, and cds that we have waiting for us on our hold shelf. Then it’s off to the Westside Farmer’s Market. This week there was an enormous diversity of locally grown produce. I got sweet corn, parsley, holy basil, chard, red cabbage, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, carrots, cucumbers, cherries, and lettuce. I also got a huge red and yellow dahlia. Our last stop is the grocery store at Midvale where we get all the other essentials and then we head home. Lucky us, all that shopping and we’re back home in less than an hour and a half.

The other fabulous thing about Saturday is lunch. Today we ate fruits, cheeses, bread, and the very same salad I prepared for a potluck we had at work yesterday…but since I forgot to take a picture of it yesterday and it was so delicious I thought I’d make it again for the genius husband and the kids. This salad is simple to make, uses common ingredients found at the grocery store, and is full of healthy antioxidants and vitamins. Because the potluck was to honor a colleague who loves the color purple I was noodling with the concept of purple food but I couldn’t come up with anything other than blueberries. That’s when I decided on a salad of blueberries, chicken, arugala, baby spinach, and sunflower seeds all tossed together with oil and vinegar. For today’s batch I used leaves of red romaine instead of baby spinach, and I added one small red onion sliced thin and some parsley and holy basil that I rough-chopped, otherwise it’s the same. Both salads were made with grocery store rotisserie chicken.

The sweet and sour juiciness of the berries complements the chicken and the slightly bitter arugala balances the rich chickeny flavor. The spinach keeps the contrasting flavors from overwhelming each other. Tossed with olive oil and Vom Foss’ Star Apple vinegar it becomes a sweet, peppery, savory, delight. The salad got rave reviews from my friends at work and the husband loved it, the kids…not so much. They thought the idea of fruit with chicken was “just wacky, mom”.

Please note that if you’re not using Vom Foss Star apple vinegar you might want to add a squeeze of honey to your vinegar and oil.

Blueberry chicken salad

August 1, 2009 | Filed Under farmers market, food, fruit and nuts, geek fast food, low carb, low cal, quick and easy, recipe, soup, salad, sandwich | 4 Comments 

Colorful chard and bean salad

chard, beans, sun dried tomato salad

If you shopped at a farmers’ market lately you had to have seen the chard bundles piled high. Chard is delicious sauted with some tomato, garlic, and onion and then served either alongside a tender chop, steak or fish or on top of a bed of fettuccine. But I also love chard served fresh and raw…no cooking required when the leaves are this tender and sweet. Last summer I served up as a simple salad green. This week I was thinking about a salad I could take to work for my lunch but since I’ve been eating lettuce salads for over a month I was a bit bored with the salad idea. After rummaging through the refrigerator and the cabinets I came up with the idea of a bean salad with the addition of chard, sun dried tomatoes, and pine nuts. It’s not surprising that it’s pretty…all those jewel toned colors of red, yellow, and green but the flavors and textures work so well together that it is surprisingly addictive…the crunch and flavor of the chopped chard stalks and leaves, the butteriness of the beans, and the unique flavors of the sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts all held together with a good olive oil and my favorite apple vinegar from Vom Fass. I highly recommend this salad, not only for its flavor and visual appeal but also it packs a ton of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins. This recipe makes a large batch and although the salad is not as visually impressive after the first day the flavors do improve…it makes a great lunch.

Chopped chard and bean salad
1 medium onion, diced
1 shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can red beans, rinsed & drained
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1 bunch of chard, rinsed and dried, stalks chopped, leaves cut into strips
Handful of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/3 extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup star apple vinegar (Vom Fass) or perhaps a balsamic

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust of necessary. Serve cold or at room temperature.

July 11, 2009 | Filed Under Westside Community Market, Wisconsin, beans, farmers market, food, geek fast food, quick and easy, recipe, sides, soup, salad, sandwich | 4 Comments 

Chickpea falafel

Chickpea falafel patties

I’ve been kicking back enjoying a bit of a stay-cation for the past few days. I’ve been favored with blissful weather, good naps, and excellent eating. I confess I haven’t cooked anything interesting other than a batch of paella last week, but we did eat our way through three of Madison’s brasserie/bistro offerings and yes, we are lucky to have so many excellent restaurants in town.

After that bacchanalia of drinks, wines, frites, mussels, steak, frites, duck confit, frites, more wine, more drinks, and desserts we were in the mood for something a bit more healthy, simpler, and yet full of flavor.

Have I introduced you to my favorite sandwich? No, well meet Mr. Falafel, he’s from the chickpea side of the world and he’s an easy friend to make if you have a food processor and a hot pan of oil.

Chickpea falafel patties

Chickpea Falafel
1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1/2 large onion
1 bunch of parsley, chop all but an inch of the stems off
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
Several vigorous shakes of tabasco
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-6 tablespoons flour
vegetable oil for frying

Toss everything but the vegetable oil into the food processor and process until it’s a rough blend but not pureed. You may need to stop and scrape the sides of the workbowl down to get a even consistency. Let it set for 10 minutes while you prepare the yogurt/cucumber sauce and slice some tomatoes and lettuce.

Yogurt Tzatziki Sauce
1 smallish cucumber, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup plain yogurt
dash of lemon juice
salt

Once everything is ready heat the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot (350 degrees F). Place globs of the falafel in the hot oil and cook until it browns, then gently flip it and cook again until golden brown. Place these golden/green nuggets in a pita pocket along with some Tzatziki sauce, some tomatoes, and some lettuce. Your only regret will be that you didn’t make a double batch.

Chickpea falafel patties

While walking through the nearby Pheasant Branch Conservancy I spied this odd looking thing hanging from the branch of a tree. At first I thought it was a banana slug due to its yellow color and sluggish curl. But it turned out to be inanimate so I was wondering if any of you might know what it is.

July 7, 2009 | Filed Under beans, food, geek fast food, quick and easy, soup, salad, sandwich, vegetable | 9 Comments 

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