Spring has not yet sprung in Michigan, but I’m excited to be emerging from my blog hibernation at long last! A lot has happened in the three months since my most recent post. ...
vinaigrette
Chipotle-Peach Chicken Pasta
Today, I’m bringing you the third installment in this summer’s impromptu chipotle-peach series: chipotle-peach chicken pasta! This recipe was inspired in part by the amazeballs chipotle-peach vinaigrette with which I have been o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. since my first taste and in part by my frustration with the (lack of) pasta options in restaurants I’ve visited lately. ...
Chipotle-Peach Three-Bean Salad
Meals right before and right after trips are generally far from ideal. Before a trip, I usually end up stuffing myself silly with various fruits and vegetables in an effort to use up all the fresh produce in the house. A dinner salad with two whole bell peppers, an apple, a crown of broccoli, and three tomatoes? Pretty typical. When I return from a trip, however, the situation is often much ...
Caprese Quinoa Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
This past week, the boyfriend and I have been visiting his family in Arizona, where the temperatures have been akin to what Michigan experiences during the summer, but without the attendant humidity. Even though we had a mercifully moderate winter (after one winter with record-setting amounts of snow and another winter with record-setting cold), I’m already looking forward to warmer weather, and ...
Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Salad
After several weeks of plying you (and myself) with holiday treats, I figured we could all use some extra greens. I know, I know…most people don’t want to hear about salads until January, when the cold reality of New Year’s resolutions sinks in, but hear me out, because this wild rice and sweet potato salad is about as cheerful and celebratory as they come! ...
Strawberry Rhubarb Vinaigrette
It has been almost five years since I moved from California, and you know what I’m still not used to? Summer rainstorms and the staggering attendant humidity. Snow and the bitter cold I can handle – although I’ll gripe about it along with everyone else, for sure! At least I was mentally prepared for the cold. I mean, it’s all anyone talks about when you say that you’re moving to Michigan. ...
Creamy White Bean Pasta Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
When I was a writing instructor, I used to caution my students against using sweeping or obvious generalizations to start their papers (“Since the beginning of time…” “Mankind has always…”), but that is exactly what I’m about to do: Sometimes, life gets unexpectedly hectic. ...
Walnut & Chicken Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette
I have a problem. I’m obsessed with pick-your-own-fruit orchards. First, I picked tart cherries in northern Michigan last month, and that was all fine and dandy and I limited myself to about six or seven pounds of cherries. Then, while visiting family in western New York last week, my aunt asked if I wanted to tag along with her to the blueberry fields, and I figured heck, why not? And so I picked ...
Chicken Salad Salad with Roasted Grape Vinaigrette
Earlier this fall, my boyfriend and I took a cooking class together. It was a one-time date-night class, and I was surprised to find that we were by far one of the youngest couples there (I had thought that in a college town, there would be more couples our own age, but maybe most couples our own age don’t consider having to cook your own dinner a proper date night. Their loss!). Although we ...