Small Bird

Roast quail with orange shallot sauce. Arugula salad tossed with a light orange vinaigrette.

Broccoli Slaw

My version of broccoli slaw with shredded chicken makes an easy lunch to munch on at work.

Sprung!

Although I despise beets in my borscht, I quite enjoy them in a salad. Beets, toasted pecans, mild chevre, radicchio, baby arugula.

Sprang!

Time for some of my favorites to return. Warm mushroom salad and asparagus soup. I added peas to the soup to preserve the color. You can get the recipes here and here.

Hello, Spring!

Finding time to cook or even eat at home has been tough lately. What's great about this one bowl meal is that I can make a big batch for an easy take-to-work lunch the next day. This atypical pasta salad is just tossed together orzo, radicchio, parmesan, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Chicken & Purple Potato Salad

Last night I made a big salad with chicken, purple potato and dill. To this I added some gobs of good mayo, extra strong dijon mustard, pepper and a generous dash of cumin. At 12:30 am this morning, I realized I couldn't fall asleep unless I polished off the rest of the bowl. So I did. In bed! And on the seventh day, I rested.

Jewelled Salad

Last night's impromptu salad (I am clearing out the fridge) yielded this lovely creation. Your favorite salad mix + valencia orange segments + avocado + figs = jewelled salad. A light, fruity vinaigrette made with the juice of your orange, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Quickies

Here's a crappy picture of a completely uncrappy Cobb salad I made with the scraps of proscuitto and blue goat cheese from the BC Day long weekend. I was so famished, I hastily took the pic before I devoured this.


Forgot to talk about how refreshing Zaru Soba is in the summer heat, served cold. These are the green tea buckwheat noodles. Easy peasy.

Green Salad

I got sidetracked just when I began my Arugula week. Instead, here's an impromptu spring salad with lightly blanched asparagus, green bean and defrosted frozen peas. Toss with baby spinach, thin slices of cucumber (I used Japanese mini cukes), chopped dill, a few glugs of olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. And some generous splashes of lemon juice.

Tub Salad

Doesn't sound very glamorous, but "tub salad" is what I'm calling this excellent lunch I made the other day. I based the recipe on the Smoked Salmon with Egg Salad and Green Beans recipe from Gourmet magazine, substituting thin, steamed asparagus for the green beans. Using three free range extra large eggs, dill and extra mustard, I made egg salad which topped off this four layer salad. Packed nicely in a 3-cup Gladware container, it was a compact and immensely satisfying patio lunch on a sunny afternoon.

Catch Up

Quick catch up after spending weeks in a culinary wasteland...I made a proscuitto, mushroom and chives tart using organic frozen puff pastry.


Feeling deprived of fresh greens, I also had an enormous craving for caesar salad.


And a quick snack..."japanese" meatballs.


Basically pan-fried Ikea frozen meatballs (not bad for frozen meat) with ottogi (pork cutlet sauce), Kewpie mayo, toasted sesame seeds and dried nori strips.

The weather's suddenly beautiful, spring is arriving, and hopefully I'll be hitting some markets soon. It's good to be back.

Chicken Asparagus Salad

Maybe it was because I was feeling a little under the weather today, maybe it was the rain finally reappearing after weeks of sun....but when I finally tossed everything together for this salad, I nearly fainted from the deliciousness. Using a roast chicken from Safeway cut back on a big chunk of time, so dinner was done in under half an hour. The salad can be served hot or cold, which makes it a good lunch for work the next day.

Asparagus and Almond Salad with Chicken from Breakfast Lunch Tea - The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

Serves 6
- 18 asparagus spears, trimmed
- 1 handful of whole almonds, skinned
- 6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- extra virgin olive oil, for frying chicken
- salt and ground black pepper
- arugula, for garnish

For the dressing
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 4 tbsps red wine vinegar
- 2 large handfuls chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- salt and ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Place asparagus in simmering water and cook for about 5 minutes until the spears are just cooked. Drain and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, place almonds in a roasting pan with a little olive oil and roast for about 15 minutes--until they're golden. Set aside to cool. Fry or grill the chicken breasts until they are cooked through. Season with salt & pepper.

Cut the asparagus into 3 - 4 cm pieces. Slice the chicken breasts diagonally into four or five pieces (I just hand shredded them). I also decided to chop up the almonds as well. Make the dressing by combining the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, adding oil at the end. Carefully fold in the chicken, asparagus and almonds into the dressing and garnish with arugula.

Lunch Salad

I made a big bowl of this for lunch today, and I think a smaller portion of this would also be really nice with a bowl of fish chowder. Using a mix of frissee, arugula and curly lettuce, I added strips of proscuitto and a light mustard-y vinaigrette (extra virgin olive oil + teaspoon of dijon mustard + dash of sherry vinegar + 1 squeeze of lemon juice + sprinkle of sugar and sea salt). Tossed with some parmesan & herb croutons (a stale whole wheat baguette cut into cubes, tossed with olive oil, powdered parmesan cheese and oregano, then baked). Top off with a poached egg and lots of pepper.

Classic Lunch to Dinner

Speaking of sandwiches, one of my favorite comfort lunches a classic grilled cheese sandwich with a good tomato soup that's not too creamy, not too runny, and not too spicy. With some tweaks and the addition of a simple salad, I turned it into Tuesday night's dinner. First, I used the adapted tomato soup recipe from Lottie and Doof, cutting back on the cream and adding a teaspoon of smoked paprika along with a generous pinch of cayenne pepper. During roasting, I also threw in a bunch of on-the-vine cherry tomatoes that were way overripe--better to use it in a soup than to toss it in the garbage can tomorrow. A generous bowl of the soup served with a dollop of sour cream and snipped chives.

As for the grilled cheese, a couple of slices of cheese bread (from Mediterranean Bakery) rubbed with a clove of garlic over both sides after toasting, are topped off with slices of emmental and grated romano (although gruyere would've been better). Pop them into a toaster oven until the cheese bubbles over and starts crusting. Of course, the bread gets dunked into the soup--is there any other way to eat it?

With a side of a plain arugula salad dressed with a basic vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and in this case, some honey too) and it was a very satisfying weeknight meal.

Wakame Salad

I grew up enjoying the ocean-y taste and slippery yet crunchy texture of seaweed, and a nice little bowl of wakame salad makes a refreshing snack. I adapted this from Mark Bittman's recipe for seaweed salad with cucumber. I took out the minced shallots and cayenne in the original recipe, instead adding a dash of shichimi spice. Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and let marinate overnight. This also makes for a delicious side during the summer.

- 1 oz assorted seaweed
- 2-3 Japanese cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- splash of mirin
- splash of sesame oil
- pinch of sea salt
- generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds

Improvised "Flammekueche"

I came across this flammekueche recipe and decided to improvise it into more of a mini pizza for an easy meal. Using whole wheat pitas as a base, I spread a layer of sour cream and topped it off with proscuitto, red onions, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

As a side, I made a roasted fig, proscuitto and walnut salad with balsamic dressing.

Smoky Mushroom Salad

I didn't know what to call this simple salad -- "smoky" really only refers to the slightly smokey flavor of the dressing. I sliced some brown field mushrooms thinly on a mandoline, tossed it together with shavings of parmesan in a bed of herb boxed greens, favoring red leaf lettuces and radicchio. For the dressing, I mixed together olive oil, red wine vinegar, sesame oil and a small teaspoon of miso paste. It was so good, I made more the next night and brought the rest to work the next day.

Thursday Night Scallops

This was Thursday night's dinner after an exhausting day. I had frozen some fresh scallops about a week ago, so I thawed them in a bowl of warm water while I grabbed some boxed greens and made a quick vinaigrette with olive oil, white wine vinegar, a smidge of dijon mustard, salt and brown sugar. Top off the greens with seared scallops and sprinkled chopped chives and black pepper.

Strawberry Salad

I've had a few heavy suppers the last week, so I thought it was time for a light summery salad. I threw together an impromptu mish-mash of sharp, peppery greens (arugula, watercress, baby spinach, chervil) plus toasted walnuts, sliced strawberries, soft goat cheese and a berry vinaigrette.

Modified Lyonnaise Salad

While at Granville Island, I spotted some lovely frisee and decided to make a lighter version of a classic lyonnaise salad. Torn frisee, dried cranberries, sliced roasted almonds and an easy vinaigrette made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and a bit of anchovy paste.

Those who know me probably think I'm crazy to forgo the bacon and egg, but really this was very refreshing and I didn't miss them at all.