1.30.2013
1.07.2013
Simply Scrumptious: Harvest Salad
I just HAVE to share about the salad I made last night. Not only was it so delicious that we had it one day at a cafe and then two days later recreated it ourselves, but it is SO SO healthy! Low-fat? Check. Low-cal? Check. Low-sugar? Check. Bursting of flavor? Check. Multi-layered and multiple textures? Check, check. Full of antioxidants and nutrients?? YES! Man - it is the kind of salad that stands alone, is vegan/vegeterian/gluten friendly, and can be adapted year-round to incorporate seasonal flavors and options. The restaurant calls this a Harvest Salad. I spent some time last night while chowing down on said salad thinking about a good name for it... I can't come up with anything better! There are so many fruits and vegetables that "harvest" really is an appropriate name. It is the food that is in season, that has recently been harvested, that will satisfy any harvester's grumbling tummy. So, I shall stick with Harvest Salad.
After all this buildup, you must by dying to know - what is this salad?! Well here we go: quinoa (complete protein, low-cal, whole grain, gluten free super food!), roasted brussel sprouts, roasted butternut squash, toasted pecans (or any nut would work...we just only had pecans as Texas has a bountiful supply of them), crumbled feta cheese, chopped apple, diced bell pepper, and a truly heavenly avocado-cilantro vinaigrette. Wowza!! Yes, it really is as wonderful as it sounds.
My sweet friend Debby and I had this salad on Friday for lunch in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We split this one and another salad as neither of us could decide which to get... and this one was certainly the winner. We spent every bite discussing the combined flavors, the individual textures, and the overall deliciousness. We were still talking about it late into the night, and the next day, and the next day. So, we decided that not only did we HAVE to recreate it, but we owed it to the salad to recreate it. The result of the recreated salad? Heaven. Delight. Acceptance by even the more skeptical male members of our party.
So, here is my interpretation of the recipe. It should feed 5 people comfortably.
1) Prepare one cup of quinoa with two cups water. Put both quinoa and water in saucepan, bring to a boil, place lid on pan, and simmer until done. "Done" for quinoa means there will be a saturn looking ring around the grains and all the water will be gone. Takes 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
2) In 375 degree oven, roast butternut squash and brussel sprouts. The sprouts cooked faster so we did them in separate pans. The sprouts were cut in halves and tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. The butternut squash was peeled, de-seeded, cut into cubes, and tossed in some olive oil, salt and pepper. When they are tender and a desired texture, they are done.
3) Dice a red bell pepper and an apple. Mix with 1/2 cup of feta. Set aside.
4) Toast chopped pecans in a small saute pan on the stove. I used about 2 teaspoons sugar and a few dashes of paprika with the pecans and then, when hot and a bit toasty, splashed a few squirts of worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
5) For the vinaigrette, I combined the following in a food processor: 1 cup cilantro, 1 large avocado, 1 clove garlic, 1 jalapeño, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, salt, pepper, and the juice of a lime. Blend well and then slowly mix in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Depending on the consistency, you could add a bit more oil.
6) Compile the ingredients. Simply mix the quinoa, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, apple, bell pepper, feta, and pecans together with the dressing. The restaurant garnished our salad with fresh chopped herbs and that was SO good - good option for future Harvest Salad makings.
So, now that you know the secret to the most delicious and satisfying salad, you too should go whip it up! It is simple yet wonderful. Enjoy!
xo,
ac
After all this buildup, you must by dying to know - what is this salad?! Well here we go: quinoa (complete protein, low-cal, whole grain, gluten free super food!), roasted brussel sprouts, roasted butternut squash, toasted pecans (or any nut would work...we just only had pecans as Texas has a bountiful supply of them), crumbled feta cheese, chopped apple, diced bell pepper, and a truly heavenly avocado-cilantro vinaigrette. Wowza!! Yes, it really is as wonderful as it sounds.
My sweet friend Debby and I had this salad on Friday for lunch in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We split this one and another salad as neither of us could decide which to get... and this one was certainly the winner. We spent every bite discussing the combined flavors, the individual textures, and the overall deliciousness. We were still talking about it late into the night, and the next day, and the next day. So, we decided that not only did we HAVE to recreate it, but we owed it to the salad to recreate it. The result of the recreated salad? Heaven. Delight. Acceptance by even the more skeptical male members of our party.
So, here is my interpretation of the recipe. It should feed 5 people comfortably.
1) Prepare one cup of quinoa with two cups water. Put both quinoa and water in saucepan, bring to a boil, place lid on pan, and simmer until done. "Done" for quinoa means there will be a saturn looking ring around the grains and all the water will be gone. Takes 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
2) In 375 degree oven, roast butternut squash and brussel sprouts. The sprouts cooked faster so we did them in separate pans. The sprouts were cut in halves and tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. The butternut squash was peeled, de-seeded, cut into cubes, and tossed in some olive oil, salt and pepper. When they are tender and a desired texture, they are done.
3) Dice a red bell pepper and an apple. Mix with 1/2 cup of feta. Set aside.
4) Toast chopped pecans in a small saute pan on the stove. I used about 2 teaspoons sugar and a few dashes of paprika with the pecans and then, when hot and a bit toasty, splashed a few squirts of worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
5) For the vinaigrette, I combined the following in a food processor: 1 cup cilantro, 1 large avocado, 1 clove garlic, 1 jalapeño, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, salt, pepper, and the juice of a lime. Blend well and then slowly mix in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Depending on the consistency, you could add a bit more oil.
6) Compile the ingredients. Simply mix the quinoa, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, apple, bell pepper, feta, and pecans together with the dressing. The restaurant garnished our salad with fresh chopped herbs and that was SO good - good option for future Harvest Salad makings.
So, now that you know the secret to the most delicious and satisfying salad, you too should go whip it up! It is simple yet wonderful. Enjoy!
xo,
ac
1.02.2013
The Recent Life of a Nomad
As I reflect back on 2012 and my accomplishments, experiences, mistakes and memories, I am realizing that for an entire year I was never settled anywhere. In the past 12 months, I have lived in an apartment, a friends house, my grandparents' house, my grandmother's house, and various places in between. Between west Texas trips, the bone marrow donation, thanksgiving, midland trips, two weeks in France and Christmas, I have spent many weeks living out of a suitcase and my car. My storage shed has gained items and lost items depending on where I was living and what season it was. I don't think that my suitcase has been unpacked for longer than a week since June.
With all this back and forth business, I am learning to fully embrace the old saying "home is where the heart is" as I do not have a place to call my own nor are there any prospects in the near future. I am getting pretty good at packing up my car and heading off to the next place on my unknown agenda. Really, the only thing keeping me from truly being a nomad is that I don't think nomads travel about with a fully packed SUV of stuff. They probably don't have a mixer, blender, tv, crockpot, entire closet, box of shoes, or filing cabinet with them at all times. But, in the sense that they move place to place and barely let the grass grow beneath their feet, I am totally a nomad. Not necessarily by choice or desire but by an openness to try something new, "find myself" and where I belong right now in this world, and be the best person I can where God leads me.
When I came out to marfa just about two months ago, I really thought it would be for a while - at least longer than two months. I expected to get settled, get a job in the local community, get a place where I could unload my stored belongings and just enjoy for a while before packing up yet again. I envisioned myself becoming very involved in the community and really never wanting to leave. After all, that's been my hope and dream for a long long time.
And, yet, here I am packing up my car once more, headed back to midland without a job and with the hopes to settle in, get involved in the community, make a name for myself. Yes - I change my plans a lot. But I feel good about this new direction and I feel really good about the way I have spent my past few months. Because I quit my job, I was able to really invest myself in the process of and healing after the bone marrow transplant. I was able to really enjoy making Lindy's wedding cake and the experience of being involved in her special day. I had the whole week of thanksgiving to spend with my parents. I was able to spend two weeks with my best friend in France and then all the time I wanted in Dallas for Christmas. There was no hurrying back to work between Christmas and New Year's Eve - just enjoying the holiday season. I was able to come to this tranquil place in Far West Texas for refreshment and prayer that I did not realize I needed until I was in the midst of it. Marfa has always been a place for me to rest my spirit and just BE so I have spent much time just learning how to be alone, to take a step back and look at my life, to be okay with backtracking a bit.
I feel good about 2013 and have a number of personal goals for this new year and new phase in my life. My spirit has been refreshed, my mind has been cleared, and I have been reminded of all the great people and opportunities in my life. Here's to a new year, a clean slate for us all and an excuse to change things up a bit.
Hugs from my Marfa porch,
AC.
With all this back and forth business, I am learning to fully embrace the old saying "home is where the heart is" as I do not have a place to call my own nor are there any prospects in the near future. I am getting pretty good at packing up my car and heading off to the next place on my unknown agenda. Really, the only thing keeping me from truly being a nomad is that I don't think nomads travel about with a fully packed SUV of stuff. They probably don't have a mixer, blender, tv, crockpot, entire closet, box of shoes, or filing cabinet with them at all times. But, in the sense that they move place to place and barely let the grass grow beneath their feet, I am totally a nomad. Not necessarily by choice or desire but by an openness to try something new, "find myself" and where I belong right now in this world, and be the best person I can where God leads me.
When I came out to marfa just about two months ago, I really thought it would be for a while - at least longer than two months. I expected to get settled, get a job in the local community, get a place where I could unload my stored belongings and just enjoy for a while before packing up yet again. I envisioned myself becoming very involved in the community and really never wanting to leave. After all, that's been my hope and dream for a long long time.
And, yet, here I am packing up my car once more, headed back to midland without a job and with the hopes to settle in, get involved in the community, make a name for myself. Yes - I change my plans a lot. But I feel good about this new direction and I feel really good about the way I have spent my past few months. Because I quit my job, I was able to really invest myself in the process of and healing after the bone marrow transplant. I was able to really enjoy making Lindy's wedding cake and the experience of being involved in her special day. I had the whole week of thanksgiving to spend with my parents. I was able to spend two weeks with my best friend in France and then all the time I wanted in Dallas for Christmas. There was no hurrying back to work between Christmas and New Year's Eve - just enjoying the holiday season. I was able to come to this tranquil place in Far West Texas for refreshment and prayer that I did not realize I needed until I was in the midst of it. Marfa has always been a place for me to rest my spirit and just BE so I have spent much time just learning how to be alone, to take a step back and look at my life, to be okay with backtracking a bit.
I feel good about 2013 and have a number of personal goals for this new year and new phase in my life. My spirit has been refreshed, my mind has been cleared, and I have been reminded of all the great people and opportunities in my life. Here's to a new year, a clean slate for us all and an excuse to change things up a bit.
Hugs from my Marfa porch,
AC.
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