All posts tagged: salad

Coffee and Herb-rubbed Lamb Chops paired with The Hess Collection Small Block Syrah

This exquisite lamb dish was provided by The Hess Collection. A very special thank you to The Hess Collection for sponsoring this post and providing this wonderful wine. In my opinion, few meals are as impressive to serve or as pleasurable to prepare as a rack of lamb. Lamb is always accompanied by the feeling that “something special is happening”  and I usually reserve it for special occasions: Valentine’s Day, anniversary dinners, or birthdays. I remember when I was young, and my brothers were little, my mother would buy a tiny package of lamb chops and squirrel them away for a rare, quiet morning when she could make them for her breakfast–always with a sunny-side up egg and a side of buttery, steaming grits. My picky little brothers would have sooner eaten soil than that exquisite meal, but I knew better and would hover around the kitchen, hoping that she’d save a bite of lamb chop for me. I suspect those lamb chop breakfasts were few and far between because the lamb was (and still is) very expensive and because of …

It’s Cherry Season! Sweet and Savory Cherry, Mint and Pistachio Salad

It’s that time of year again when I gorge myself on ripe, sweet cherries! I just can’t walk by a display of cherries in the grocery store without buying a bag, because it’s the one time that they won’t completely break the bank! Have you seen them priced at $9.99 per pound before? I have and it freaks me out. So, I exercise restraint throughout the year and go cherry crazy right about now. During cherry season, you’ll find me with a bowl of cherries tucked in my lap and munching away contentedly with no need to do anything further to distract from this lusciously sweet treat. Plain cherries are just fine with me, but I suppose if I wrote a blog post about a bowl of cherries, you might look at me a little funny. Recently, on the way to work I was listening to an episode of The Splendid Table as Jen Stevenson, co-writer of the book, The Picnic and member of the Portland Picnic Society (well, of course Portland has a picnic society, doesn’t your town?) was discussing …

(BABY!) Israeli Couscous (BABY!) Asparagus and (BABY!) Mushroom Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Ahh, babies.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had babies on the brain. Most of my peers had kids so long ago that they are now old enough to be productive members of society; but a month ago, one of my closest and dearest friends had a baby boy the day after my birthday!   I cannot tell you how excited I am that a new baby has come into our little group of mostly child-free friends! I don’t have children of my own and that’s not entirely by choice.  I struggled with infertility for many years before coming to the realization that one day my lady parts were going to become my undoing.  That realization came in 2007 when I landed in the hospital with a collapsed lung caused by severe endometriosis.  The following year, almost to the day, my lung spontaneously collapsed again. That time, I spent 6 grueling weeks in the hospital having 4 unsuccessful surgeries before finally heading to the Mayo Clinic for treatment.  Remember when I mentioned my scars a few weeks back?  That situation accounted for …

Arugula and Golden Beet Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

When I was a kid, beets were the one vegetable that I would not touch with a ten-foot pole! It was the 1970s and the only beets we had came in a can and I thought they were awful! But the moment I had fresh, roasted beets served with goat cheese, I was hooked. Now I can’t get enough of them! Earthy, sweet, gnarly-beautiful beets are made even sweeter by slowly roasting them in the oven with cinnamon sticks and bay leaves and marinated in a gingery-grapefruit vinaigrette.  If ever there was a salad that makes you feel warm inside, then this is it!   The weather is finally starting to warm up a bit, but it’s technically winter, so we can still take advantage of ripe, winter citrus, leafy greens and root vegetables.  This salad beautifully bridges the gap between the long, cold winter and the warm sun of spring that’s just waiting around the corner! Golden beets are not always available, so when I see them at the market, I grab them.  Milder …