Food for thought.: July 2011

Is this a blog post? Yes, it is! I haven't been updating this because, frankly, I forgot it existed. Today I was just going to eat a lousy (still delicious) bagel with organic butter on it but thought, "Ya know what? I will make a blog post and make something else instead!" So, here it is, one of my favorite "everything but the kitchen sink" salads.

Above me you will see the following ingredients:

¥ Iceberg Lettuce&Fresh spinach (My sister used the last of the fresh spinach so I just used iceberg lettuce)

¥ Canned black olives (you can use any other olive of your choice)

¥ Cherry tomatos (you can have them in whole or slice them)

¥ Fresh mozzarella cheese (cut into cubes)

¥ Strawberries (cut into slices)

¥ Grilled chicken

¥ Blueberries

¥ Raisins

¥ Parmesan cheese (grated)

¥ Rye bread croutons

The rye bread croutons are extremely easy to make and take less than ten minutes!

You will need:

¥ Rye bread

¥ Extra-virgin olive oil

¥ 1 Clove of garlic

First you want to cut the slice(s) of rye bread into cubes. Then, put some olive oil in your pan/skillet and add in the cubes of rye bread. Let them toast on one side for five minutes or until brown. Flip and do the same on the other side. Once the other side is brown, crush and then dice your garlic. Add into pan and turn off fire. Toss them for a bit and then remove them from pan. MAKE SURE TO WATCH THEM BECAUSE THEY WILL BURN. As you can see from above, mine were burned because I was too busy taking pictures (the irony in this).

Dressing:

¥ Cardini's Pear Vinaigrette

Okay, I usually make my own salad dressings but this compliments the salad so well because of all the fruit that is in it.

You will want to put you lettuce in first, followed by your:

¥ Strawberries

¥ Blueberries

¥ Fresh mozzarella cheese

¥ Raisins

¥ Olives

Finally, add in your dressing and then toss.

Do NOT add in your croutons or parmesan cheese yet because while tossing the croutons will become a bit soggy and the best part of a crouton is the crunch (also, the whole purpose of a crouton).

After tossing your salad, add in your croutons and sprinkle in your parmesan cheese. You are done!

Now, here is a wonderful lemonade with fruit beverage to go perfect with your salad.

You will need the following (makes one serving):

¥ 3/4 Cup of water

¥ 1/3 Cup of lemon juice

¥ 2 TABLEspoons of sugar

¥ Strawberries, blueberries and clementines. (make sure you slice strawberries)

You can add as little or as much as you want to this recipe by the way!

Pour your water into a bowl. Add in your lemon juice and sugar (I am doing this by eye). You can do this by how tangy or sweet you want your lemonade to be.