Ingredients:
- One 12.5 ounce can chicken
- Two ribs celery, sliced
- Two or three large spoonfuls mayonnaise
- Squirt of mustard (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup raisins
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
We are going to the San Francisco Zoo this morning, so last night I made my super quick and easy chicken salad. I'll admit, I did not invent the recipe. It is based on one David often made for picnic lunches before we were married. But, in all fairness, I make it way better than he does. I like to put my chicken salad in sandwiches or scoop it up with crackers or just eat it by itself. If my husband remembered to get bread, we will be eating sandwiches at the zoo today. If not, I know I saw some crackers in the cupboard. Either way, it will be a delicious lunch for our zoo outing. Chicken Salad Recipe: Ingredients: - One 12.5 ounce can chicken - Two ribs celery, sliced - Two or three large spoonfuls mayonnaise - Squirt of mustard (optional) - 1/4 cup chopped pecans - 1/4 cup raisins - Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Open the can of chicken with an old-school can opener (yes, it will creates sharp, jagged edges, but it will make draining easier). With the lid still over the chicken, press down to squeeze all the liquid out. Dump the chicken into a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, putting in enough so that the chicken sticks together plus a little (the raisins will absorb some of the moisture). Add a squirt of mustard. Mix it all together. Make sure that there are no chunks of chicken, If you find some, break them apart with a fork. Slice the celery and chop the pecans. Add these, along with the raisins, to the chicken mixture. If, like me, you forgot to set aside a couple ribs of celery before making a large batch of celery nut salad, just use several scoops of that in place of the raisins, pecans, and celery. I hope you enjoy this chicken salad recipe as much as I will today at the zoo. I know, I said "zoo" again. I'm just so excited! We bought a membership when we were there a month ago, but we didn't get to stay long that time. Plus, the flamingo chicks hatched about a week ago and I'm eager to see them in all their adorable fluffiness (or is it "fluffy adorableness"?). Maybe they will even let me bring one home. I wonder if flamingos like chicken salad...
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Several years ago, David and I were living in Ojai, California, in a tiny (98-square-foot tiny) rented room in a house. To get away from the insanity of living in a shared space with the landlord and two other renters, we often went for a walk in the evening. One of our favorite destinations was Rainbow Bridge market where we would peruse the shelves with no intention of buying anything other than a few chocolate worlds. Occasionally we would splurge and buy food from the lunch counter. My favorite dish from there was the celery salad. After reading the ingredients on the container, I realized that it would be super easy (not to mention cheaper) to make myself. So, I set about recreating the recipe and making it my own. After all these years, I think I have finally perfected it (hint: it's the lime!). Make sure to plan in advance since the salad should ideally sit for at least 24 hours in the fridge before serving. Celery Nut Salad Recipe: Ingredients: - 1 pound celery hearts - 6 ounces pecans (either halves or pieces) - 6 ounces dried fruit (currants or raisins work best) - 1 large lemon or 2 limes - 3/4 cup mayonnaise - 1 Tbsp. maple syrup - 1 Tbsp. dried parsley Directions: Take apart the ribs of celery from the main stalk, discarding the small, yellowish ones on the inside. Wash each rib and trim off the top and bottom ends. If the ribs of celery are very wide (i.e. more than an inch at the widest point), slice them in half or thirds lengthwise. This will make it prettier and easier to eat when it is done. Chop the celery by hand or with a food processor using the 4mm blade. Since celery has a tendency to tip at an angle when going through a food processor, I recommend using the narrow spout and putting in several ribs at a time. If your cutting board or food processor fills up before you are done slicing, empty it into a large mixing bowl and continue slicing. If you are using pecan halves, chop the pecans into small pieces. Dump the sliced celery, chopped pecans, and dried fruit into a large mixing bowl and set aside. For the dressing, slice your lemon or limes in half. If you are going to juice by hand, slice the ends off as well to make it easier to squeeze all the juice out. Note: When I first started making this recipe, I used a lemon as in the original dish. Although delicious, I have since found that limes provide a smoother flavor with less of an acidic bite. Use whichever flavor profile you prefer. Juice the lemon or limes into a medium-sized bowl (like the kind used for cereal). Add the mayonnaise and maple syrup. Whisk until there are no more clumps of mayonnaise (a fork is fine for this). Note: I have also used honey as a sweetener, but it does not stir in as easily as maple syrup. If you use lime juice, the sweetener is less necessary so you can reduce or omit it as you prefer. Pour the dressing onto the celery, nuts, and dried fruit. Sprinkle on the parsley. Stir it all together, making sure to coat everything with dressing. Don't worry if there appears to be too much dressing; the dried fruit and nuts will soak it up. Cover the bowl with a large lid or put the salad in a sealed container. Put it in the fridge and leave it there for at least 24 hours before eating. Trust me on this. It is not even worth thinking about eating before the 24 hour mark, and, truthfully, I think it tastes best on day three. At that point, the dried fruit has soaked up a lot of dressing and taken on more flavor and become less chewy. Also, the celery has lost its slight bitter flavor so it is a sweet, refreshing side dish. This salad is perfect next to hamburgers, grilled steak, and barbecued chicken. In other words, it is the perfect backyard picnic food. The best part is, if you are going to have company, you can make it in advance and leave a little extra time on party day for cleaning or, dare I say it, a few minutes of relaxation. Enjoy! Brussels sprouts have a bad reputation. I'm not sure how or when it started, but whenever I mention them to anyone they cringe. Perhaps it all comes down to "how mother used to make them." My mom never did cook Brussels sprouts when I was a kid, so I didn't discover how yummy they are until I was an adult and living away from home. The secret is to bake them at a high temperature until they caramelize just a bit and get tender but not mushy. They are so delicious, in fact, that I eat them like candy. As soon as they are cool enough to eat, I start popping them into my mouth as if I hadn't eaten in days. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself. Baked Brussels Sprouts Recipe: Ingredients: - 1 pound Brussels sprouts (preferably organic as the flavor tends to be less bitter) - 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil - Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Use a sharp knife to trim the ends of the sprouts and remove the outer layer of leaves. Slice them in half from top to bottom and toss in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and give them a few more tosses to get them coated evenly. Spread the Brussels sprouts on a cookie sheet or baking dish. If there are any loose leaves, put them in, too. Slide the baking dish into the oven and bake for about 30-45 minutes. Half way through the cooking time, give the sprouts a quick turn (or at least a shuffle) to help them cook evenly on both sides. When the sprouts start to get a little brown and tender, you can take them out of the oven. If you want them softer or browned more, give them another five minutes. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes before popping one of these delicious goodies into your mouth. Oh, and those loose leaves you put in? As long as they aren't burnt, these are often the best part. It's almost like eating a potato chip. Mmmmm. This is one of the few vegetables I could just snack on for the deliciousness of it. Enjoy! I have been in a Thai-food mood and recently made two of my favorite, not to mention easy, curry-based dinner recipes. The first is Red Curry Soup and the second is Yellow Curry with Rice. Both recipes use Trader Joe's curry sauces (but only the red and yellow because the green is not so good). I often change up the vegetables depending on the season, so these are both recipes that can be made all year. Plus, they make great leftovers, so I always make extra. Red Curry Soup Recipe Makes 6-8 servings Ingredients: 1 large red pepper 1 medium eggplant 1 medium-to-large butternut squash 1 box (32 oz.) chicken or vegetable broth 1 can coconut milk (the full fat stuff tastes best) 1 bottle red curry sauce from Trader Joe's Basil to taste (fresh or dried depending on your preference) Black sesame seeds for garnish (optional) Directions:
Yellow Curry with Rice Recipe
Makes 4-5 servings Ingredients: 1 red pepper 1 yellow pepper 1 small onion 2 pounds of chicken (dark meat works best since it does not dry out as easily) 1/3 bottle yellow curry sauce from Trader Joe's (more or less according to preference) Rice Black and white sesame seeds for garnish (optional) Directions:
A great addition to this would be spinach (if you have it on hand). It adds a nice bit of color. Just put it in about five minutes before serving and only cook it long enough to wilt it. If you make enough curry for leftovers, make sure to remove the extra before adding the spinach since spinach does not keep so well in the fridge after it cooks. More than two years ago my sister asked me if I would make her wedding cake. At the time, Goen wasn't even an idea, and I enthusiastically said "yes." Although I was involved in the planning of the cake, I was unable to help out with its creation as much as I had intended. Circumstances being what they are, I spent those five days as a single parent. My sisters Annie and Kristin did all of the mixing, baking, frosting, and chocolate drizzling. I did help by finding this delicious recipe, shopping for the ingredients, giving input, dipping strawberries in melted chocolate, trimming the layers to flatten them, and assembling some of the cake before it was brought out. It sounds like a lot, but, compared to everything that needed to be done, it was very little. Here, Kristin is mixing up the batter for one of the batches of red velvet cake. Since she wanted three layers, 6 inches, 8 inches, and 10 inches, and the recipe only made two 9 inch cakes, we had to triple it in order to have enough. Of course, we didn't need all of the third batch so we made red velvet cupcakes, which we (mostly I) ate as we (mostly they) made the cake. Instead of red food coloring, we used red velvet emulsion (like the professionals use). The recipe includes a filling/frosting made with cream cheese and mascarpone cheese. It is a whipped-like frosting that is light and not too sweet. Just watch out that you do not beat the frosting too much or the heavy whipping cream will separate and you will get butter (not that we did that...). Annie rehydrates during a grueling baking session. She helped out a lot. She watches Cake Boss, so she was whipping up the cake like a pro. Annie managed the whole baking operation and made sure that Kristin and I were doing what needed to get done. Fresh California strawberries straight from the fields of Oxnard. Yum! We selected a bunch of these to go on and around the cakes, but first we dipped them in chocolate. Kristin is washing and prepping the strawberries for dipping them in chocolate. I helped with the dipping so there are no pictures of that, but you can see the results in the final pictures. We used Wilton's melting chocolate pieces, but we added a bit of crisco (as recommended by this tutorial). Make sure the strawberries are dry before dipping them or you will end up with clumpy chocolate (not that this happened to us...). I didn't get any pictures of frosting the cake, but we basically followed this tutorial showing how to do a crumb coat before doing the rest of the frosting. I also missed out on the chocolate drizzle because of a nap, but this tutorial does a good job of explaining and showing how to do a nice and neat drizzle. My sister preferred something a little less "perfect" so she opted for drizzling with a spoon. The cake turned out beautifully, and it was delicious! It was moist and smooth and creamy. Going along with the beach theme, the cake topper is a groom carrying his bride over the sand. Wedding Week is officially half over. I hope you have enjoyed it so far. But there is still lots more to come. Tomorrow's post is all about the bouquet.
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Carley Biblin
Hi. My name is Carley. I love to sew, craft, and create. As a Jane-of all-crafts so to speak, I enjoy sewing, writing, cooking, drawing, photographing. But the constant thread (if you'll excuse the pun) throughout my weeks is needle arts. Archives
January 2017
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