salad

You are currently browsing articles tagged salad.

Food Art

Remember that June where it rained every day for the entire month? Yeah, I am pretty sure those dreary “summer” days are hard to forget, and it looks like this May is trying to one up June 2009. Don’t get me wrong. I love rainy days and actually appreciate a cloudy day or two every week. I find them more serene than sunny days, and in this allergy season, I can finally breathe more easily. It’s not so much the rain that is getting me down, it’s the cold! I am back to working in multiple layers of fleece with my down slippers on, sipping on various Yogi teas all day to stay warm. We even put the heat on a few times this week. It’s obviously not as cold as it was all winter, but my body is just longing to feel comfortable, no chattering teeth or blue fingers, just that ahhhhhh when you can sit back, relax and not feel too hot or too cold.

I am ready to feel like that.

To bring the taste of summer into my life this week, I decided I needed a bright caprese salad.

caprese salad

It provided a bright contrast to what I was looking at out of my skylight.

rain in Boston

Caprese salad is such a simple and colorful dish, perfect for a light summer dinner with a baguette and a glass of wine.

This time, I used Shaw’s brand, Culinary Circle fresh mozzarella. Once again, the store brand is just as good as the fancier brands but about a dollar cheaper.

fresh mozzarella

These tomatoes looked gorgeous, but they ended up being a little too hard. It was a little disappointing, but I know I will appreciate local summer tomatoes that much more.

vine ripened tomatoes

My Shaw’s had one box of basil left, and it looked awful, so I bought these Gourmet Garden herbs in a tube.

tube of basil

Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, olive oil, salt, and pepper. It couldn’t be easier or more delicious.
caprese salad

Served, of course, with a side of Tostitos hint of jalapeno because I am a tortilla chip addict. These beat out the hint of lime chips, in my opinion!

Tostitos Jalapeno

This was actually my mid day lunch, one of the perks of working from home!

 

What summer foods are you most looking forward to?

Tags: Food, mozzarella, salad, tomatoes, Vegetarian

Muahahaha. . . would my husband notice if I replaced the chicken in our chicken salad with Quorn meatless chicken cutlets? Would I notice a huge difference? Let’s find out!

Quorn chicken cutlets

As many of you know, I am a former vegan and vegetarian who has, in recent years, discovered the deliciousness of humanely raised, organic meat. But, for our health and the environment, I have been returning a little to my vegetarian ways and have been looking to get enough protein while eating more meatless meals.

Quorn chicken cutlets

With a plan to make a sweet and spicy chicken salad in mind, I decided to just substitute Quorn chicken for the real stuff.

For my salad, I started with about a cup and a half of grapes, cleaned and cut in half.

image

I also cleaned and chopped three stalks of celery, including the leaves.

celery

And about two tablespoons of ginger

ginger

I mixed up the faux chicken, celery, ginger, and grapes with a sprinkle of salt, several spoonfuls of curry powder, and about a cup of Greek yogurt.

chicken salad ingredients

chicken salad

I served the salad on homemade focaccia bread, the easiest yeast bread I have ever made, and one that I will be making again and again, maybe even several times a week. Interested in the recipe? Read my afternoon post!

image

The sandwich was, perhaps, a little unseasonable for a snowy night, but it was delicious.

The look? Just like chicken salad. The taste? Pretty darn close. With all of those ingredients mixed in the chicken took a back seat. It provided a nice, chewy texture and mild flavor and I had to ask my husband later if he noticed anything different about the chicken Smile To his credit, he had worked over 14 hours after four hours of sleep, so I can’t blame him for missing the change. I have to say, I might have been fooled myself!

Do you have any healthy substitutes that you just love?

Tags: focaccia, Food, grapes, healthy recipe, meatless, Quorn, salad, Vegetarian

One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting new people and getting the inside scoop from them on where they like to go in their hometowns. It’s easy when we visit Ireland; we have friends and family who always have great recommendations, and I think it makes for a more memorable trip.

That’s why I was delighted to meet some Napa-area natives in the downtown Napa Ceja Vineyards tasting room. Over a glass of Bella Flor Rosé, our new friends shared their wine and restaurant favorites for Napa and then actually walked us to the restaurant we decided on, Zuzu. We were definitely not in Boston anymore. . . and it was really nice.

We chose Zuzu out of the many Napa recommendations we were given because a tapas dinner sounded perfect after a day of wine tasting and eating Mexican food.

Zuzu Napa menu

We were lucky to snag the lone empty table in the festive and bustling dining room. In keeping with the festive mood, I had a glass of Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noir.

Then we chowed down on a variety of tapas.

Roasted Red Beets with Frisee, Walnuts, Pt. Reyes Blue Cheese, Blood Orange Vinaigrette

You can’t go wrong with beets, and this salad was great. Adding more beet salads is definitely one of the small changes I will be making toward better health this spring!

image

Queso Frito: Pan Fried Manchego with Roasted Poblanos and Guajillo Sauce

Fried cheese, check!

image

Tunisian Brik Pastry with Dungeness Crab, Organic Eggs, and Spring Garlic

I’ve had the pleasure of eating Brik in Tunisia, and this was one of my favorite dishes at Zuzu. The soft outer pastry enveloped sweet crab and rich eggs.

image

Traditional Tortilla Espanola

You also can’t go wrong with a classic tortilla. I love to make them, order them when I go out, and most of all eat tortillas. They are the quintessential, must-order tapa for me.

image

Zuzu ended up being a great recommendation. Small plates meant that we got to share a few different tastes, and on the plus side, the meal was pretty quick which was perfect, considering we were still on East Coast time. I would definitely recommend Zuzu if you are visiting Napa, and I will definitely return, as soon as possible Smile

If you met people traveling from another city, what would be your top restaurant recommendations for your area?

P.S. You have one more day to enter the giveaway to win a $30 gift card to CSN stores and/or to enter to win some gift cards to Boston area restaurants.

Zuzu on Urbanspoon

Tags: beets, cheese, Food, Napa, Restaurants, salad, Tapas, tortilla, wine, Zuzu

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera