Summer Eating

I love those moments when cooking transcends simply being functional, a physical answer to a felt need deep in our bellies. I love those moments when cooking becomes more like an art... when I take a recipe and tweak it to
my cravings,
the fresh food of the season,
the availability of ingredients in my cupboard at the time,
my whims of curiosity.

My cravings.
Today I wanted a summer dish. I wanted something a bit lighter than my typical kitchen journeys took me. Something not necessarily warm.

Fresh food.
Tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes. I LOVE them. I could eat them all day long. I wanted a new use for these seasonal plump red beauties. Another excuse to buy more.

Ingredient availability.
I love saving money and reducing trips to the grocery store. For instance, in the recipe below, I enjoyed subbing in balsamic vinegar for the white wine vinegar. Makes me feel smart to beat the system in this way. I mention below a few of the recipe originals in case they work better for you.

Whims of curiosity.
This trait has the potential to scare roommates and husband. In college, I once used my sandwich maker to make a green bean casserole sandwich. What a better way to use Thanksgiving leftovers, I surmised! I didn't get any takers on that one. Today's curiosity simply led to adding chicken and marinating it in the dressing used in the salad.

The following is a tweak to a recipe I gleaned from a recipe swap* among friends a few days ago.

Spinach Salad with Chicken and Apricot Vinaigrette
serves 8

6 chicken breasts, raw
2 TBL lemon juice
10 oz pkg of fresh spinach
1-2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 small purple onion, thinly sliced
8 oz of large pasta, like ziti or penne, cooked
(1 cup of chopped dried apricots)**
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese***
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Apricot Vinaigrette, 1/2 reserved (recipe below)

Sprinkle lemon juice on chicken breasts. Pour 1/2 of apricot vinaigrette on top of chicken, stir until coated, and marinate for several hours or overnight. Cook chicken at 350 degrees for 30 min or until chicken is cooked. Place rest of ingredients up to vinaigrette in a large bowl. Pour in vinaigrette (or adjust amount to taste) and toss gently. Serve on plates topped with sliced chicken breasts.

Apricot Vinaigrette


1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup apricot jam
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.
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Enjoy! I plan on posting a few other of our family's favorites in the coming weeks. Happy eating!

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*I fully recommend throwing one of these together. Eight of us brought 10 copies of 5 of our favorite recipes... the ones we use on a regular basis- easy and loved by many. We sipped coffee, nibbled dessert, and shared our recipes and cooking hints with one another.

**I didn't have these but I kept them on my tweaked recipe as they would definitely be a welcomed addition.

***Original recipe called for crumbled feta or goat cheese.

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