Jun 29, 2012 | Luscious Desserts, Spring & Summer Recipes
Berries are nature’s candy. There is nothing better than biting into a handful of the sweetest, ripest and juiciest of summer’s bounties — the berry. Berries are so delectable and favored in our house, that my son refers to them as dessert and has, on many occasions, passed on ice cream or a cookie in favor of a juicy crimson-fleshed strawberry (his favorite.) Not only are they delicious but — wait for it — they pack a wallop when it comes to nutrition. That is, if you eat organic. (more…)
Jun 25, 2012 | Luscious Desserts, Spring & Summer Recipes
It’s summer time and though the weather here in the Pacific Northwest hasn’t seemed to have received that memo yet — we at The Groovy Foody have. We’re not gonna let a little lack of sunshine ruin our summer fun, we’re celebrating the kick-off of summer with the bevy creamy treats whipped up by Adam Ried in his freshly released cookbook, Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes. (more…)
Jun 23, 2012 | Low or No Sugar, Luscious Desserts, Quick and Easy Meals, Spring & Summer Recipes
Around here at The Groovy Foody, we’re kind of known for doing more complicated dishes, for delving into alternatives like baking with whole grain quinoa or exploring world cuisine but even the most adventurous foodie among us likes to take part in the simple things. This is even more imperative on hot days, when you might not want to be hanging around a hot stove and instead enjoying a frozen treat to beat the heat. (more…)
Jun 16, 2012 | Healthful Eats, Quick and Easy Meals, Spring & Summer Recipes
Just another lunch at Casa de Groovy
For our daily lunch over here at Casa de Groovy, we often eat a variety of green salads or things like tuna, salmon or chicken salad on brown rice cake, served with assorted fresh veggies and humus. These lunches are always extremely satisfying, never weigh us down and also help us to avoid that dreaded mid-afternoon slump most folks get after filling up on starchy carbs. But the other day, the hubby felt like chicken salad and we had all the ingredients, except the red grapes we usually use and we had no apples or pears for substitution — what to do? Run to the store? — No way!
Be Inventive!
What we did have was a nest of ripe, red and juicy organic strawberries in the fridge. Would strawberries work? Would their sweetness be overwhelmed by the sharp vinegar of the mayo? I decided to forage through our staples and find this salad’s perfect partners. This is what I came up with:
Greek yogurt, mayo, orange muscat champagne vinegar, bleu cheese, green onions and hazelnuts!
Not only would it work — this might just be the best summer chicken salad ever!
Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Markets
That’s what I’m hoping the folks over at Whole Foods will think. They’re celebrating berry season over there and as part of it, yours truly entered a Whole Foods Berry Recipe contest with this recipe (Yay! I hope I win!) Besides that though, I get to take part in the celebration by hosting a berry party for friends (pics and recipes to come!) during the month of June — Coming soon!
Have you ever been out of a key ingredient and found a substitution that blew your socks off? Share your story in the comments below.
Summer Strawberry-Hazelnut Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- About 8 to 10 medium-sized ripe strawberries (chopped)
- 2 medium chicken breasts (fully cooked)
- 1/8 cup chopped (or smashed) hazelnuts
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions
- 1/8 cup mild bleu cheese
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise or Veganaise
- 2 Tbsp plain greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp Trader Joe’s Orange-Muscat Champagne Vinegar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- Squeeze of lemon to make the strawberry’s flavor pop!
- Salt to taste
Prep
Cook the chicken breast, in the oven, skillet or by boiling, and set aside to cool. Chop the strawberries, hazelnuts and green onions and crumble the bleu cheese, setting each aside, in a separate bowl. When chicken has cooled cut it into small, bite size pieces.
Whisk together the yogurt, mayo, vinegar and cinnamon to make the dressing, adjust seasoning to taste.
Mix all ingredients together with the dressing in a medium-sized bowl and chill for 15 to 20 minutes or up to 1 day. Serve on a rice cake, baguette, flaky croissant or a bed of fresh spinach or mixed greens for the perfect summer chicken salad.
Enjoy!
Perfect with fresh veggies and humus
Jun 15, 2012 | Grilling, Holiday Fare, World Cuisine
With Father’s Day just around the corner dads all over the nation are prepping their grills for the second most notable BBQ day of the year (the first being 4th of July.) If the dads in your life want to spend the day at the grill, I say more power to ’em (and Whole Foods has a few grilling suggestions to help dear old dad prepare for the great grill off.) For my hubby though, it’s tacos all the way! (more…)
Berries are nature’s candy. There is nothing better than biting into a handful of the sweetest, ripest and juiciest of summer’s bounties — the berry. Berries are so delectable and favored in our house, that my son refers to them as dessert and has, on many occasions, passed on ice cream or a cookie in favor of a juicy crimson-fleshed strawberry (his favorite.) Not only are they delicious but — wait for it — they pack a wallop when it comes to nutrition. That is, if you eat organic. (more…)
