burgers

It’s taken me until the middle of August but I finally made homemade burgers this week. It was so worth the wait.

Homegrown beef from my friend Jeanine, tossed with local grated two-year old cheddar, and a heaping spoonful or two of my cousin Pat’s homemade pesto. I rounded out my summer backyard feast with lots of fresh veggies from my local farmers’ market – sautéed cremini mushrooms, diced tomatoes and fresh carrot sticks.

100% Simple. Local. Yum.

CJR

 

curried chicken salad

We have had a break in the heat and humidity but it still feels wrong to turn on the oven to make dinner. That means getting creative with cold food. Ina Garten’s Curried Chicken Salad is a favourite of mine and hopefully it will satisfy your summer taste buds too!

In her recipe, she devotes a paragraph to roasting the chicken breasts to use in the salad. If that appeals to you — knock yourself out! I prefer those rotisserie chickens at the grocery store!

I usually buy two chickens and chop them up. Then I almost follow her recipe:

Curried Chicken Salad

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise ( I use about 1/3 cup mayonnaise and 1/3 cup non fat Greek yogurt only)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup mango chutney
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup medium-diced celery (2 large stalks)
1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews

Photo credit: Ina Garten

The recipe says to blend the dressing in a food processor, but then you would have to wash the food processor! Just mix the ingredients in a big bowl, taste and adjust the seasonings and then add the chicken to the bowl and mix well. It tastes best when it has had a few hours in the frig and the flavours have blended together. Serve it on a bed of lettuce for dinner and then use it in sandwiches the next day!

HAR