everyday feasts Archives

I try so, so hard not to make super bold statements on le blog. But chicken… I’ve just never had anything good to say about chicken. To me, chicken was as blah as blah could be.

And then, in order to recreate my great grandmother’s chicken and dumplins recipe, I had to boil a chicken. The boiled chicken was simple, tender, and flavorful and the broth was down right drinkable. And then I boiled another chicken. And then I started craving chicken salad like whoa.

Even though chicken salad is one of those non-recipe, recipes, I couldn’t think of anything to add besides grapes and nuts. I used the Junior League of Tampa Cookbook, EveryDay Feasts, as my grocery guide and came up with a chicken salad that I could be perfectly happy eating, well, errr’day!

I cubed two boiled breasts and added chopped celery, seedless grapes, scallions, and toasted almond slices. Then, I added a wee bit of Vegenaise (just enough to make the salad stir-able) and salt and cayenne pepper to taste. This whole salty/spicy/sweet thing, I just can’t get enough.

The first recipe that caught my attention as I was browsing through EveryDay Feasts was the Fresh Carrot Salad. This recipe screamed simple and fresh, which define a good summer recipe in my mind.

Fresh Carrot Salad

1 TBSP White Wine Vinegar

1 TSP Dijon Mustard

1/2 TSP Salt

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 LBS Carrots, Grated

1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds, Toasted

Combine the vinegar, mustard and salt in a small bowl and whisk until blended. Whisk in the olive oil and set aside. Combine the vinaigrette with the carrots in a large bowl and toss to mix well. Spoon into a serving dish. Sprinkle with almonds when ready to serve.

I made a couple tiny modifications in the interest of time, calorie reduction, and my one person household. The most notable changes were using the only available bag of shredded carrots ( 10 oz rather than 16 oz) and reducing the olive oil by 1/4 cup.

After sampling a small portion, I shook the remaining salad in a ziploc and let it marinate as I packed it in a picnic basket to bring with me to Rock The Park.

This was my first experience with a carrot and almond combo and I was very impressed! I would have never thought that carrots and almonds would compliment each other so well. This recipe was also ideal for a picnic dish because it tasted even better after sitting and all of the ingredients were outdoor temperature friendly.

I passed the salad around as a side and then plopped the rest on a whole wheat pita with homemade hummus and cucumbers as my main course. The addition of the carrot salad was a game changer and I highly recommend adding this burst of color to your favorite summer sandwich!