Greek Yogurt "Ranch" Dressing and a Summer Salad

Everyone loves a creamy dressing. Everyone. A lot of us just dislike the heaviness of them as well as the thought of how many additional, maybe unnecessary, calories we'd be consuming if we went with that dressing option. But, summer...sweet sweet summer. And a good chop. Summer and chopped salads deserve a creamy sidekick. 

So here, I've created a healthier version of the standard Ranch Dressing we all grew up with. And an easy-peasy throw together salad to bring to your next backyard BBQ.

SUMMER SALAD WITH GREEK YOGURT RANCH DRESSING

Serves: 6-8 as a side

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 box spinach

• 1/2 box organic girl butter lettuce or 1 small head of butter lettuce

• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

• 4 radishes, thinly sliced

• 1 avocado, cubed

• 3 Tbsp sunflower seeds

• 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds

• 1/4 c fresh dill

• 10-15 basil leaves, torn

• 1/4 c chives, minced

• 1/2 c microgreens

• 3/4c plain greek yogurt

• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. In a large bowl, gently toss together spinach, butter lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, seeds and herbs.

3. Add desired amount of dressing and carefully toss with hands to prevent damaging herbs or avocados.

4. Top with microgreens and maldon salt if desired

Ain't No Spring Chicken!

Hello Spring. Hello Chicken. Hello Beautiful Spring Veg. And Hello YOU.

Whelp, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I've been chugging away over here recovering from the ACL surgery (which is finally going great, btw!), handling a slew of puppy emergencies (ruptured gall bladders are no joke!), organizing surprise trips for people and then turning around and having to cancel, sneaking bits of sun when it pokes its' head out from behind the clouds, and of course, working with my favorite people on changing their lives!!!! 

And in between it all, I've still been cooking, promise.  Here's a recipe I created just for Barre3, and its a good one! 

Easiest and most-perfect roasted chicken you can make - keep it on hand as a staple chicken recipe - and use any spring vegetables you prefer! And of course, you can use this recipe year round and swap out the veg that's in season that time of year!  

Enjoy the longer, sunnier days, my friends!

xx

Roasted Chicken with Braised Spring Vegetables

We love this juicy chicken combined with fresh spring veggies. The fennel, garlic, and lemon not only add loads of flavor, they also fight inflammation and support healthy digestion. Besides being light and totally satisfying, this recipe also makes plenty of leftovers to enjoy the next day.

Prep Time: 15 mins  |  Total Time: 50 mins  |  Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 chicken pieces (thighs, legs and breasts)

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil

• 1 Tbsp butter

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 6-8 radishes, halved

• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, halved and quartered

• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and chopped

• 12-15 stalks asparagus, roughly chopped

• 1 handful green beans, trimmed

• 1 handful sugar snap peas, diagonally sliced

• 1 small bunch of spring or green onions, trimmed and halved lengthwise

• juice of half a lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Season chicken pieces with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

3. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet or heavy oven-safe sauté pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add chicken pieces to pan, skin side down, and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and cook an additional 10 minutes.

4. Turn chicken over and continue cooking until juices run clear and skin is crisp, about 5 more minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in a large deep sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tbsp butter with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add radishes cut side down and cook until golden brown on all sides, tossing occasionally. Remove from pan and set aside. Add fennel and garlic and sauté until fragrant and beginning to brown. Add zucchini, asparagus, green beans and snap peas, and cook, tossing occasionally until beginning to brown, about 2-4 minutes. Add green onions, lemon juice and 1/4 c chicken broth and season with sea salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Add radishes back in and season again if desired.

6. Serve chicken with spring vegetables and top with fresh cut herbs.

Summer Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

You know that delicious groundbreaking salad that you start to see everywhere when the summer solstice hits? Yep, it deserves to shine.  So damn delicious, I am making it over and over again already, and maybe only forgetting the star of the show, basil, a handful of times.  (Gahhhh, without fail, I forget one ingredient - every. single. time.)

This salad is an incredibly simple and easy dish to throw together.  The perfect summer salad. Bring it to your next barbecue and eyes will light up, serve next to a simple grilled steak for a quick and easy weeknight dinner or serve straight up for lunch or a snack.  So worth it. 

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SUMMER HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND NECTARINE SALAD

Prep Time: 5 min  |  Total Time: 10 min  |  Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 mixed heirloom tomatoes

• 1/2 c baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 ripe nectarines, thinly sliced

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

• 1/2 c pickled red onions

• 1/2 c fresh torn basil leaves or micro greens

• olive oil

• fresh cracked peppercorns

• maldon sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Thinly slice 2 of the large heirloom tomatoes and quarter 1 heirloom tomato.

2. On a platter, arrange tomatoes, mozzarella and nectarines.

3. Drizzle entire salad with olive oil, a generous sprinkle of maldon sea salt and fresh cracked peppercorns. Let sit 5 minutes

4. Arrange pickled red onions and basil on top and finish with additional salt and pepper. Voila, gorgeous!

A Sunday for Pancakes

I love Sundays for their silence.  For the morning light that creeps in through the blinds, the ability to nestle in the sheets a bit longer and regenerate and the extra time to sit with a cup(s) of coffee and make something simple, yet delicious.

I extend the last few sips of my coffee for as long as I can, which means I'm still working on the cup from breakfast this morning as I sit down to type, not to mention in a new favorite mug that has a skateboarding cat riding a path into the mountains, next to a lake surrounded by trees and under the big sunny sky. New staple mug. 

After devouring our pancakes, we kept repeating that this really was "the best pancake recipe ever" and I realized I should probably not keep those things to myself, but share them with you and let you experience their deliciousness as well. I hope you find as much joy in them as we do on a lazy and glorious simple Sunday morning. 

Best Pancake Ever

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c heavy cream, milk or nut milk

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 c all-purpose flour or gluten free all-purpose flour

• 2 tbsp coconut sugar or organic cane sugar

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 large farm egg

• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• dash of cinnamon

• extra butter for cooking

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine heavy cream or milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit to sour.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Add egg to heavy cream, melted butter, vanilla and cinnamon and whisk to combine.

4. Slowly combine cream into flour and gently whisk until smooth consistency.

5. Add a dab of butter to hot cast iron skillet. Once melted, using an ice cream scoop, measure one full scoop of batter and pour into center of pan and let sit. Once bubbles form, quickly flip. After 30 seconds, use the back of the spatula to gently press and cook until lightly browned on both sides.

6. Add another small dab of butter and continue with remaining batter.

7. Finish with your personal choice of powdered sugar, maple syrup, honey and yogurt, fruit compote, etc. Possibilities are endless, but I like to keep it simple and sweet.

Toast Obsession

Yep, it's official... I. AM. OBSESSED. WITH. TOAST. There aren't enough places around this town with good ol' toast.  I'm going to change that and you can quote me on that.  But, in the meantime, while you're waiting, I'll just be making it at home, for myself and for anyone else who wants to sit down with me and indulge in the many possible creations for this brilliant and simple idea we call toast.  Did you know that toast was created to make stale bread more palatable, and at one point, Streetband/Q-Tip even had a song named 'Toast' where they used toast as an instrument and the sound of toast being scraped later in the track...ummm....yeah, that happened. 

While living in Venice, I frequently (when I say "frequently", I mean "daily") walked down with Chloe to the little local joint GTA (Gjelina Take-Away) and it was almost a certainty that I'd order a toast. Sometimes the granola, sometimes the spicy breakfast sandwich with kale, but most likely...toast...and a cortado.  God, I miss that place. And with that nostalgia and longing for a good local spot where everyone knows my name and the toast that I want, I have to settle for toast at home.

Above, my favorite, salmon toast (wild alaskan smoked salmon, cream cheese, pickled cucumber, capers, radish, dill) and pear toast (winter red pear, whipped cream cheese and yogurt, maldon sea salt, thyme).

Salmon Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan bread, sliced (and optional: lightly toasted)

• 4oz Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon

• 2 oz Organic Cream Cheese

• 1 Pickled Cucumber, thinly sliced/shaved

• 1 Tbsp Capers

• 1 Radish, thinly sliced

• 2 sprigs fresh dill

• Maldon sea salt

• fresh cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your mise en place of ingredients.

2. Spread cream cheese onto slice of artisan bread.

3. Layer with salmon, cucumber and capers. Top with radish and dill sprigs and a pinch of maldon sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Voila!

Winter Pear Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan bread, sliced (and optional: lightly toasted)

• 2 oz cream cheese

• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

• 1 red or asian pear, thinly sliced

• maldon sea salt

• 1 sprig thyme

• optional: drizzle of honey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your mise en place of ingredients.

2. In a small bowl, whip together cream cheese and yogurt. Adjust amount of yogurt for desired taste and consistency. Spread cream cheese onto slice of artisan bread.

3. Layer pear on top of cream cheese/yogurt and top with maldon sea salt, a sprig of thyme and optional honey drizzle for added sweetness. Done!