Feeling a little full? A little heavier than you were a couple weeks ago? I know I am! I love the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years, not only because of the actual reasons for the celebrations, but because of several underlying themes which run throughout the season. God and His Son, family, love, giving, fresh beginnings, and of course food! This post really has nothing to do with spiritual growth or deep theological study, but I thought it would be fun to share.
Food is such a great communicator. It can say I love you, I feel your pain, I am celebrating with you, I mourn with you, etc. I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t love food. My mom may differ as I have been known to be a picky eater. I think I am mostly past that phase of my culinary life, but there are a few things I refuse to eat. Mushrooms top that list. I can’t stand mushrooms. I can appreciate the depth of flavor they give to a dish, but I just can’t put it in my mouth and chew. Ick! Any internal organ and beets round out the foods that I just can’t or won’t eat. I love to make complicated recipes with exotic ingredients, but I am also a sucker for down-home simple comfort food. Sometimes when I am sick, I want just a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy, or pasta tossed with a little butter, lemon and herbs.
After all the parties and extravagant meals we eat during the holidays, sometimes in January I begin to long for just simple, fresh food. So, I thought I would share with you one of my own recipes for something simple and tasty. If you feel like something healthy to help meet that resolution, this will work for you too.
In the bottom of a medium size salad bowl, whisk together 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced, 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper. Slowly stream in 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil ( you can adjust the amount depending on how strong you like your dressing and how much dressing you need) while whisking vigorously. If you like a more sweet and sour balance, you can add 1-1 1/2 tsp. sugar, honey or sugar substitute.
Next, slice a small red onion into rings and add to salad bowl. If you don’t like red onion, a medium shallot will work nicely too and give a more mild onion component. Slice half a cucumber into 1/4 in. slices. Chop six to eight baby carrots or one large carrot into bite-size chunks, and chop one to two stalks of celery. I like using the leafy parts of the inside of the celery bundle as there is lots of flavor in those leaves as well. Pit and slice your favorite olive, using about 1/4 c. once they are sliced. I like Kalamata’s which are Greek, Nicoise’s or Picholine’s which are French. Add all the veggies to your salad bowl.
Wash thoroughly your choice of fresh, dark leafy greens. I usually prefer baby spinach and or arugula, but any green you like will work fine. You could use large leaf spinach, red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce or Romaine. Watercress would also be a nice add-in as it has a nice spicy bite to it. If you have a salad spinner, use that to remove any extra water or you can use a couple paper towels to gently blot away extra liquid. Add the greens to your salad bowl and toss all your ingredients gently with the dressing.
Once the salad is tossed, I like to add 1/4 – 1/3 c. of crumbled feta cheese and the same amount of dried cranberries. If you have some on hand, you could add some chicken which has been shredded or diced into bite-size pieces. I also like to slice up leftover steak and add that to the salad. One last addition which I like is toasted walnuts or pecans. This gives your salad another level of texture with their crunch and they add good nutrition with Amino Acids, Folate, Vitamin A, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium.
You can adjust all the amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste or how much you need for the number of people you are serving.
Bon Appétit! Marissa
