Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘olive oil’

Jul 10

1 Comment

Blackberry Spinach Salad with Lemon Thyme Chicken & Blackberry Vinaigrette

For three weeks now, I’ve been crazy over local blackberries! They are so tasty on their own, I rarely have enough left to make something fun! So, this week I bought two pints instead of one.  Oh the possibilities!  Fruit crisp, muffins, pie… oh my!

I love summer berries as dessert, but I actually prefer to keep it simple.  Think smoothies, berries + yogurt + drizzle of honey = YUM!  I want the star of the show to be fresh fruit.  I also picked up some first of the season peaches at the market this week, so I certainly see smoothies in my near future! This weekend though, these HUGE blackberries went into a main entrée summer salad.

Step One: Lemon Thyme Chicken
If you are in a hurry and already have leftover chicken on hand, use it! But I really love my lemon thyme herb pot; I think it has a nice light summer flavor.

Season chicken breasts to taste with the following:

Salt and Freshly ground pepper
Paprika (for color!)
Fresh Lemon Thyme
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 1/2 a lemon for 3 breasts)

Bake at 325* F until juices run clear.  I would have loved to grill these, but, we haven’t invested in a grill yet.  If you try it be sure to let me know how it is!  I actually over cooked our chicken a little because I forgot about it.  Set a timer if you need to.

Step Two: Blackberry Vinaigrette

Okay, so this step is a bit messy, and not for those of you in a hurry.  But – it sure was worth it!

Ingredients: (these are estimates, I didn’t actually measure anything, so go by taste!)

1 Pint Blackberries
1/4 cup red onion
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar ( I also used Pear infused Vinegar)
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

  1. Using a food processor, puree pint of blackberries.
  2. Here’s where it gets messy, using a mesh sieve (or piece of nylon) strain the blackberry juice from the pulp and seeds.  Take your time and wear an apron.  Set juice aside.
  3. Rinse out food processor.  Pulse red onions garlic, honey and vinegar.  Add blackberry juice and olive oil, process.
  4. Transfer to serving container.  A jelly jar works fine.
Step Three: Assemble
Here is where it all comes together.  The flavor combination is salty, fresh, sweet, and bright.  The texture is crunchy from walnuts, creamy from feta, and juicy from blackberries.
Ingredients:
Organic Baby Spinach
Sliced Lemon Thyme Chicken
Toasted Walnuts
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Fresh Blackberries
Blackberry Vinaigrette
QUESTION: How do you include fresh berries into your summer meals?

May 29

1 Comment

Memorial Day Weekend Pasta Salad

I’ve been a bit neglectful lately.  This blog, Facebook, and twitter have been my victims.  First it was a period of writers block and lack of creativity/inspiration in the kitchen.  Then it seem’s life just got busy.  I drove to Roanoke for 2 days of dietary leadership training (which was fantastic by the way!).  Then last weekend I went home for a family wedding (congrats Kelly and Andy!).  While visiting, I made some yummy rhubarb apple bread for the family.   No matter how enjoyable the trip, traveling ALWAYS wears me out.  I’ve also been working occasionally on the weekends, which is my designated blog writing, cooking, Michelle time, time.  But enough is enough! It’s Memorial Day weekend and I owe you a recipe!

The other day at the grocery store I bought I magazine.  I never magazines, at least not anymore.  It always seems like there are more ads than content, and with the internet available, they have become obsolete.  Still, this one grabbed my attention.  As we waited in line I flipped through the pages to find recipe after recipe, step by step instructions, and beautiful photography.  I had to buy it and I’m glad I did.

But of course the recipe I made from the magazine, Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad with Mint, Cucumber and Feta, is available for your viewing pleasure online.  We are having BBQ chicken tonight and I know this salad will make a great side dish.  Need a last-minute dish to pass for your Memorial Day get together?  Try this!

In my inpatient way, I couldn’t wait until dinner to try this salad, so here are my thoughts.  The recipe calls for 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.  In my opinion, this is WAY too much, I’d suggest scaling back to 2 TBS to start.  Also, while the mint was good, I actually think this would be even better with fresh dill for a greek salad of sorts (maybe some scallions or onions too?).  If you’re not a huge fan of feta cheese, dial it back to 1/2 or 2/3 cup.  Add a nice size pinch of black pepper, dice the cucumber small, and finally, don’t over-cook the pasta!

Well there you have it!  Have you been having fun this weekend?  What are you eating? Do you have day off tomorrow or do you have to work like me?  I have to tell you, while I love living in Williamsburg, It gets pretty crazy around here with tourists during the holiday weekend!  I did my grocery shopping early this morning, and I’ll be staying in for the rest of the day!  Happy Holiday!

Last Year: Memorial Day Morning Glory Muffins

Apr 7

Roasted Baby Broccoli

I’ve invented the new kale chip.  Roasted baby broccoli.

Fine, so I’m sure I didn’t actually invent it, but I sure did stumble on something pretty amazing on accident.  See, I’ve been on kick lately of trying new foods.  We tried a spring inspired farro dish.  I’ll definitely be looking for more ways to incorporate farro into our diet, it is safe to say it is Jacob approved! While grocery shopping about a week ago I stopped to admire the cute baby carrots.  not the every day ones I dip in peanut butter, but tiny “real-looking” carrots with the leaves still attached.  Anyway, the baby broccoli caught my attention, so I threw it in the cart.  It reminds me of a bouquet…

As it turns out, baby broccoli (also known as broccolini) is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan (a chinese broccoli).  If I had to compare it to another veggie, I’d say it reminded me of asparagus in texture with the long stalks.  The stalks were pleasantly sweet, and the crispy roasted florets reminding me of the popular kale chip in flavor.  I could have eaten all of it!  Warning: this stuff is good, just don’t over do it if you have some trouble digesting veggies like broccoli.

This recipe is super easy.  Wash and dry your broccolini.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Spray with olive oil or canola oil cooking spray.  Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, garlic powder or whatever you think sounds good.  Roast at 300* F for about 15 minutes or until the florets start to just turn a hint of brown and crispy. That’s it!

What do you think?  Have you ever seen baby broccoli at the store before?

Oct 6

3 Comments

Snack Time: Spicy Kale Chips

If you read the title of this post and said, “What!? Kale chips?” Your not alone.  You might think that the words kale and chips never, ever, belong in the same sentence.  You might even be wondering just what the heck kale is.

Kale is a curly green leafy vegetable that is a member of the cabbage family.  Like spinach and other greens, kale is a very nutrient dense food.  Wait! Don’t say “yuck!” just yet! Hear me out.    I first heard of kale about a year ago, I was skeptical, but I like spinach so I eventually gave it try.  I even wrote an article on Impact Dash about it, where I combined it with bow tie pasta and added some cayenne pepper for heat.  This recipe had me pretty convinced that kale isn’t all that bad, and with a bit of spice, it’s actually pretty good!  So don’t rule it out just yet!

A few months after writing the article for Impact Dash, I started seeing a trend gaining momentum in the food blog world, Kale Chips.  I was intrigued.  My first thoughts were, “what!?”  How do you turn a leafy green into a chip? Does it actually taste good?”  I figured I’d give it a go, all these well known bloggers who turn out great looking food on a daily basis can’t be wrong, right?! So, picked out some more kale at the store, brought it home, washed it, and let it dry.   I tore the kale into small pieces, massaged with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, put them in the oven, and walked away.

Walking away was a huge mistake.  When I returned to the oven about 20 minutes later and removed  the pan, all I had were some black/brown tiny crispy things that no longer resembled kale, but certainly didn’t look like chips either.  I munched on a few that weren’t burnt quite as bad, and swore that I would never make these again.

Except I did.

I’m not sure what propelled me to buy kale at the store the other day.  I’m not really sure what made me want to make kale chips again, but I’m thrilled at how they turned out!  I’m very pleased I gave them a second chance!

I started the same way, by washing and drying the kale.  A salad spinner works wonders for the drying process, but laying the leaves out on paper towels for about an hour (or until dry) in a warm kitchen works okay too.  Once the leaves are dry, trim off the thick ribs and tear into large pieces.  Notice I said large not small?  This was the first mistake I made the last time around.  The kale pieces are going to shrink drastically once you put them in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Place the dry kale pieces in a large bowl and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on them.  You don’t need much, a tablespoon or two is fine.  Use your hands to massage or rub the oil into the leaves.  This is the fun part! If you have kids, let them do this!  Speaking of kids, this recipe is great for involving them  in the cooking process and promoting veggie consumption.

Spread out the oiled kale onto a dry baking sheet.  Don’t overlap pieces.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and little black pepper.   Here is where you can get creative with toppings.  I bet fresh parmesan cheese would be good!  I decided to go the spicy route again, and added a little cumin, chili powder, and onion powder.  Not much, no more than 1/4 tsp.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and don’t walk away! The kale will cook for about 15 minutes, but use your judgement.  Every 5 minutes I took a peak and turned the leaves over.  I’m not really sure if turning them made a difference, but it made me feel better! The chips are done when they just start to turn a little brown and are nice and crispy.   Place carefully in a bowl and eat immediately.  I’ve heard some people store them in a brown paper bag, but I haven’t tried this yet.  I’m afraid they would get soggy.  Plus, they are so addicting anyway, there is a slim chance I would have any to save!

Eat as many as you want, we’re talking about kale here!  I’m not about to stop anyone from eating too many kale chips!  So let me know what you think! Have you made these before?  What other flavoring do you think would be good?  Do you think I’ve completely lost is, and have somehow convinced myself that kale taste good?

And just for fun, watch Woody on Cheers as he tries ‘Veggie Boy” a veggie drink full of kale!  And if you have this reaction to kale chips let me know, we can try hypnosis! :)