Pear & Mixed Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

“What kind of dressing do you have?”

“Well, we’ve got 1000 island, balsamic vnaigrette, blue cheese, French, ranch, honey mustard, Caesar, parmesan peppercorn, and our house Italian,” I rattle off from memory. Over and over and over again. Inevitably the customer gets 1000 island on their side salad (eww, btw) but only tells me after I’m out of breath from reciting the list. Sometimes, they ask twice before making a decision. Why we don’t have our dressings listed on the menu is beyond me. Drives me bonkers.

And has kind of turned me off of salad dressing. Forget that from the ages of 4 to 14 I assumed any sort of vegetable was just a vehicle for ranch dressing. Now, I normally just do a little balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper on my salads. Sometimes, if I’m feeling funky I’ll do an avocado or salsa.

But, now I’ve got a new go-to salad dressing. And go-to salad. This Pear and Mixed Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette is filling but fresh, a perfect way to ring in the New Year. A fresh cranberry vinaigrette dresses a simple salad of mixed greens, red onion, bacon crumbles, pear, and blue cheese. Salty, tart, sweet, crunchy, creamy. Phenomenal. 

Pecan & Cranberry Crusted Goat Cheese Salad

I’ve never been one of those people. The ones who “do lunch.” You know, the fancy people who always seem suuuuuper busy but can always “do lunch” sometime.

Puh-leaz. I do lunch every day. I can’t not do it. I schedule my classes at school around it. I start thinking about lunch as soon as I take my last bite of breakfast.

Lately though, with work and baking and other holidays to-dos, lunch has consisted of cookie dough, cookies, frosting, or some combination thereof. Delicious for a while, but not a sustainable meal plan. Mainly because I have to wear jeans to work. 

Fried Egg and Warm Kale Salad

Thanksgiving weekend is full. Full of family, friends, and food. There’s also a fair amount of shopping, coffee drinking, and laundry doing. Maybe a little "Office" watching thrown in for good measure. 

Know what there’s not a lot of? Restraint. Of any kind. A third plate at Thanksgiving dinner? Sure! Eat pie at 8 at night and then power nap before Black Friday shopping? Obvi. Buy the child sized fingerless gloves because they’re pink and sparkly?! Duh!

Ok, maybe that last one was just me (and the two ladies behind me in line who saw what I had and snatched up pairs for themselves. My lack of taste is vindicated!), but I’ll bet most of us are still feeling the effects of an extended weekend full of nonstop eating. I’m surprised I didn't sweat mashed potatoes on my run this morning. 

How can we rectify this situation? Kale. Kale is always the answer. 

Acorn Squash and Kale Risotto

I have this friend, let’s call her Peg, who doesn’t really “do” vegetables. She doesn’t buy them, rarely eats them, and certainly doesn’t cook them. She actually doesn’t really cook anything, save for microwaving the occasional Lean Cuisine Meal.

You’d think that being the complete opposite of her, I’d be less than enthused to interact with Peg, but in fact, that is not at all the case. I feel the need to take care of her, to make sure she’s getting some kind of sustenance besides blueberry bagels smothered in cream cheese. The girl loves carbs.

At least once a week, Peg picks me up and we go to the grocery store (because her fridge contains only Diet Coke and cheese cubes) so I can make dinner. While she stocks up on bagels and freezer meals, I gather up fresh produce, eggs, butter, and whatever else I’ll need to make dinner and dessert.

Back at her apartment, I start puttering around in the kitchen while she does homework at the dining room table. I know trying to get her to eat a salad or steamed cauliflower is not going to happen, so I have to get sneaky with vegetables. She informs me her mother used to try and stick vegetables in pasta and Peg, stubborn even at age 4, would spit them out on the floor and only eat the noodles. This friendship is preparing me for motherhood.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Red Onions, Goat Cheese, and Toasted Walnuts

There are a few questions I don’t like being asked. “What size jeans are you?” “Did you want that with whipped cream?” “Can you give me the answer to this math problem?” Those are merely a sampling. They make me feel uncomfortable and unnecessarily stressed. I’ve carefully honed my behavior to avoid these kinds of questions (meaning I wear sweats, order Americanos, and refuse to take a math class until it is absolutely needed).

But lately, a question I can’t seem to escape is whether or not I am a vegetarian.

Growing up in Wisconsin, I didn’t encounter a whole lot of herbivores (I actually only knew one vegetarian before coming to college). Many times our family meals consisted of meat, potatoes, and more meat. Maybe some tasty biscuits from a can if we were feeling fancy.

Despite this meal plan, I managed to cultivate a strong taste for vegetables, particularly since coming to college. Raw, steamed, roasted, any way I can have them I will happily fill my plate. I include them in nearly every meal and feel very thrown off my axis if I don’t have any vegetables at all in a day. All very strange, I know.

Not all of my friends here share my outlook on, or love for, vegetables. I’ll talk about a dinner I made or order a meatless entree at a restaurant and be bombarded with a chorus of “Are you a vegetarian?”

Salmon Tacos with Roasted Corn and Poblano Salsa

I’m having an affair. With my jean jacket. Wait, is that weird? To be in love with an item of clothing? Definitely Probably. But I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it!

We started flirting a few years ago, when it caught my eye across a crowded GAP Outlet. We went out casually a few times over the next couple of months, nothing too serious, just a little light layering. I didn’t want to seem desperate. We even separated for a few months and I turned to my wool peacoat for comfort and warmth during those cold and dark months.

Then, this summer, we made up. And were inseparable. We spent nearly every day together. Sundress, maxi dress, peasant skirt. Jacket, jacket, jacket. If I had been carrying around a notebook there would have been little doodles with “Amanda <3s JJ” or “JJ + Amanda = Togetha Foreva” all.over.it.

And now, as the weather gets cooler and hemlines get longer, I am still relying on good ol’ Jeanie. Keeping me warm on cool morning walks to class or managing to make an outfit both more casual and pulled together without looking too “done” – my jacket is there for me. In the summer. In the fall. Forever.

These tacos are the jean jacket of the food world. Comfortable and versatile, they can transition from summer to fall without effort. 

Spinach and Jalapeno Salmon Cakes with Sauteed Kale and Cherry Tomatoes

I’ve been thinking about Baltimore a lot lately. Around this time last year I visited a friend from school there and had one of the best weeks of vacation, bar none. My memory has been able to retrieve the smallest details – the feel of the hardwood floor on my toes early in the morning, the spray of the water coming off the harbor cooling my hot skin, the sound of construction crews as they worked tirelessly on the road outside my friend’s apartment.

I remember my first meal there in vivid detail. Fresh off the plane (or as fresh as one can be after 4 hours of sleep and a nearly missed flight), we went to a Baltimore landmark, Miss Shirley’s, to sample a Baltimore classic, crab cakes.

Having had crab cakes in Wisconsin before and being less than impressed, my taste buds were primed to be disappointed. 

I love when my taste buds are wrong.

Foil Wrapped Salmon

I can’t even think of a witty story or anecdote to go along with this salmon. I think that’s because it’s nothing particularly special. It’s delicious! Don’t get me wrong, it is a tasty piece of fish. But it’s simple.

It’s the dinner I make for myself when my dad is working nights. He refuses to eat salmon and I refuse to make two separate dinners – so I save this meal for when it’s just me.

Normally I make this in the oven, but yesterday I tried it on the grill with great success.

Foil Wrapped Salmon

Serves: 4

2 - 8oz. filets of salmon, skin on

1 lemon, sliced, divided

1 TBSP Coconut oil (or butter)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Miscellaneous spices/herbs, to taste

Preheat grill over medium-high heat until internal temperature is between 350 – 375 degrees. Alternatively, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a large square of foil with olive oil spray. Lay salmon on foil, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any additional spices or herbs (I use a seafood blend with sage, thyme, and rosemary, among others). Top with pat of coconut oil and lay lemon slices over filet. Wrap foil tightly around salmon to create a packet o’ fish. Repeat with other filet.

Grill (or bake) for 10 – 15 minutes, until fish is medium pink and flakes easily with a fork.

Peel off skin and serve with grilled or steamed veggies for a fast and healthy summer dinner!