A Life, Lived

Tomato Vidalia, Onion and Blue Cheese Salad

On Saturday I posted a quick summer salad.

Here is another. We made this with the tomatoes from our garden.

We served it alongside some grilled potatoes, green beans, and steak - a perfect summer meal!

Tomato Vidalia, Onion and Blue Cheese Salad

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/3 cup diced Vidalia onion
3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

Combine the first four ingredients to make a vinaigrette. Toss with grape tomatoes and the onion. Sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese.

Marinated Tomato and Onion Salad

This salad reminds me of summer dinners at my grandparents when I was a child. Back in the days before air conditioning (yes, I am that old), it was often too hot to cook in July and August. Often if we were staying at my grandparents' house dinner would consist of cold cuts, cheese, and a simple tomato salad. dessert would be some fresh fruit from the garden or the trees. Talk about fresh and local!

Now that I am playing at adulting I'll often pull something like this together - not necessarily because it is too hot to cook (thank you air conditioning) more because I an stretched for time.

30 minutes after walking in the door from the office you can have this on the table.

Fresh, delicious, and quick!

You can play around and add different herbs or even crumbled feta or blue cheese to change things up a bit.

Marinated Tomato and Onion Salad

2 medium tomatoes (I like to use heirloom for added colour), sliced and quartered
1 medium sweet onion, sliced and large rings halved
1 T EV olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 T chopped fresh dill
1 t sugar
1/4 t salt

Place the tomatoes and onions in a medium bowl

In another bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients until the dressing has emulsified.

Pour the vinaigrette over the tomatoes and onions. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes before serving.

My Kind of Sale

:-)

Travel Tuesday - Halifax

Today I am popping to the east coast for Travel Tuesdays.

I didn't have a car on this visit so whatever I saw was walking distance from the hotel.

Peas with Shallots and Pancetta

Our CSA had some fresh peas last week. I immediately thought of the wonderful dish I had in Italy - peas cooked with pancetta. Peas and pancetta is a classic old-world Italian side dish but too often the peas are totally overcooked. The secret is to cook the pancetta FIRST so that the peas are not mush.

I shelled the peas. Had my usual chuckle at how a giant bag of peas in their shells resulted in a tiny amount of actual peas. I can't imagine the acres of peas that must be grown to feed the worldwide consumption! To say nothing of the poor souls who have to shell 'em all.

Luckily I had a bag of fresh shelled peas to augment my supply.

This recipes comes together quickly and soon you'll be enjoying an amazing treat.

Peas with Shallots and Pancetta

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound pancetta, cut into small dice
3 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound frozen peas, thawed

Heat the oil in a large high sided saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown and the fat has rendered. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels.

Add the shallots and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook until soft. Add the peas and cook until warmed through. Transfer to a large bowl and top with the crisp pancetta.

My Birthday

I turned 53 more than a week ago now but haven't one my usual birthday 'round up' post yet.

It really was a sort of anti-climatic event to be honest.

On the day of my birthday I was in Ottawa for a meeting. It was the last day so I had to pack up the hotel room and get everything ready to go so we could make our 1 PM check out. The meeting itself went from 9 - 1.

The day started out well with cupcakes from my colleagues.

There you go. That WAS the hi-light of the day.

The meeting itself finished up right on time. I called for the car to be brought up while Paul arranged for a cart to bring down all of the stuff. We were in a bit of a rush since we had a long drive ahead of us.

We made one stop - I loaded up on croissants, treats, and bread from my favourite bakery. Once the car was full of tantalizing smells we were off.

The drive from Ottawa is normally about 5 hours. Unfortunately the weather was bad, it was a Friday afternoon, there were accidents, and construction. It took us closer to 6 hours to get home.

You know what a joy drives like that are.

My celebratory birthday dinner was a burger from Burger King at a roadside stop.

Happily we were able to take a new highway to the 407 toll route and once we did that we sailed along. The 412 isn't THAT new but I guess it is new enough that my GPS showed us driving through farmers' fields. We had a good laugh at how the device almost lost its mind trying to recalculate the route.

When we arrived home Beckett needed plenty of attention. Even though Leslie gave him lots of love it just was not enough apparently.

As soon as the car was unloaded I lay down for a rest  . . . the next thing I knew it was 9:00!

Happy Birthday. LOL

We ended up celebrating on Monday night. We did a Tuscan themed meal with an amazing 2.5 inch t-bone steak grilled in the Tuscan style, sauteed greens, Tuscan white beans, salad, and baked potato (nothing Tuscan about THAT but I had some double stuffed potatoes in the freezer and we are trying to use what we have).

We had assorted cheeses to start with.

Of course we had cake and gifts!

At my age a birthday is just another day It matters not when you celebrate or how just that you still can. :-)

Very Punny

Travel Tuesday - Ottawa

I was in Canada's capital for meetings all of last week. Sadly I did not have much free time so i wasn't able to go and see the various things which were a part of the Canada 150 celebrations. Paul on the other hand . . .

Thursday was the only day where the sun came out. After the meeting finished at 4:00 we drove across the river to hull and visited the MosaiCanada150 display. This exhibit featured giant 3D horticultural sculptures which were meant to represent the Canadian identity, history, or myths. It was one of the more fabulous exhibits I have been to in awhile.

Chicken Horiataki Salad with Tzatziki

Horiatiki salad is a ubiquitous summer salad, synonymous with lazy summer lunches in Greek tavernas by the sea. When we were in Greece every restaurant had a version of horiatiki salad (also known as village salad).The one thing that they all had in common was that they were made with fresh, local ingredients at the peak of ripeness for maximum flavour.

The version is the perfect salad for an endless summer day. The folks at Fine Cooking have created a Chicken Horiataki Salad that is filled with classic Greek flavors and finished with a light, tangy tzatziki sauce.

YUM

Chicken Horiataki Salad with Tzatziki

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley<
Olive oil, for grilling
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, seeded, and sliced crosswise
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1/3 cup pitted black olives, such as Kalamatas, halved
1-1/2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup homemade or good-quality store-bought tzatziki sauce
4 pitas, toasted

Prepare a medium-high (400°F to 475°F) gas or charcoal grill fire. Meanwhile, remove the tenderloins from the chicken breasts, if necessary, and reserve for another use.

Put a chicken breast half between two large pieces of plastic wrap, and pound it to an even 1/4-inch thickness with a meat mallet. Repeat with the other 3 breast halves.

In a mortar, combine the lemon zest, garlic, oregano, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and 1/4 tsp. water. Grind with a pestle to crush and combine. Rub the mixture all over the chicken.

Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the chicken, patting it into the meat with your fingertips. Grill the chicken without moving it until grill marks form, about 4 minutes. Flip and grill until just cooked through (160°F), another 1 minute. Transfer to a plate, and squirt 2 lemon wedges over the chicken. Top with the parsley, and let rest.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and olives. Toss with the olive oil and oregano, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the salad among 4 plates. Slice the chicken and place on top of the salad. Dollop with some of the tzatziki sauce. Serve with the remaining lemon wedges and the pitas, if using.

Flat Earth Arguments