Letting Go with Counter-Top Salads for Dinner

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Please read my message after the story especially my gracious email subscribers.


She was three years old when she performed in her first dance recital. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Bunny Hop. Her little feet could be heard "tap, tap, tapping" away as she practiced for her big debut.

Considering that when she wasn't dancing she was impersonating Mary Poppins, she seemed destined for life as a performer.

On the soccer field, she was the one with bows in her hair, picking daisies, twirling around and skipping as the ball rolled past her.

When the girls around her and the competitiveness of the game grew to such a level that skipping as the ball rolled past you wasn't considered cute anymore, the Rooster and I decided to pull her from soccer. We encouraged her to forge her own path in dance.

And dance, she did...ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical. Six nights a week. She blossomed into an amazing dancer. And call me bias....but I love to watch her dance. She's beautiful on-stage.

And just when there seemed to be no end to her dancing days and at the height of sequins, sparkles, lycra, stage make-up and dark auditoriums, she said to me, "Mom, I'd really like to try lacrosse."

Like a needle being ripped across a record, the room went silent.

"Lacrosse?"

"Yeah, my friends who play are always telling me how fun it is."

"But, sweetie, you have to wear goggles...and a mouthguard," I said to my fashion-concious daughter.

"I know."

"And you have to get in there and mix-it up with sticks and a ball," added the Rooster. "You don't like competitive contact. Remember when you played soccer?"

"No, I don't remember. Last time I played I was like in fourth grade."

That was probably true. While her "out-in-the-field picking daisies" ways were still very present in our minds, for her it was four years ago. Practically a lifetime.

We continued to throw out reasons why lacrosse wouldn't work for her and she continued to come back with reasons why it would.

On her own, she worked out a schedule that would accommodate lacrosse, dance and school. She contacted coaches about getting on the team. She figured out how to get to and from practices. When game time came around, she not only got in there and mixed-it up, she was aggressive. And fast.

When she asked to go to a tournament in Seattle at the end of the season, we had to say no. "You are committed to your dance classes that conflict with the lacrosse practices. Your recital is coming up. You can't miss class. Other dancers are counting on you."

She contacted the coaches for the tournament and arranged to miss Monday night practices so she could be at dance. I told the Rooster that her determination should be rewarded so we agreed to let her go to the tournament.

Her team, the Bulldogs, played three games in the tournament. The Rooster and I watched every one from under umbrellas, down jackets and fleece blankets. We watched our daughter flying down the field in the rain, fighting for the ball amidst a swarm of sticks and on occasion, putting that little ball into the net to score.

Her team lost all three games. The final game had a score of 2-13 but her coach awarded her "Player of the Game" for her persistence and hard work and I felt myself tear up.

There is something so gratifying about watching your child succeed at something that she alone wanted. Something she was determined to do even if her parents were trying to talk her out of it.

So last week, instead of feeling bitter about driving her out to a lacrosse camp clear across town, leaving no time to cook but only time for counter-top meals, I was happy to do it.

And as she limped along into her dance recital over the weekend, I could tell by her demeanor that perhaps this phase of her life was coming to a close. She was still beautiful on-stage but there was something removed about her stance. And when I asked her if she thought she'd take dance next year, she said to me, "Well, I know you like me to do dance...."

That's when I told myself, "Let go."

I don't know whether her future will hold mouthguards or ballet slippers but I do know that it is her future and I am loving watching her decide for herself just what that future will be.


...


IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I know I have alluded to the fact that  I have been working with web designer, Kirsten Hope, to create a new look for La Pomme de Portland. She has helped me create a lovely new space. I know you will love it.

The time has come for us to do the site transfer. In order to do so, my website will be down for about a week starting July 3rd. I'm letting you know this for a couple of reasons.

1. I am crossing all fingers and toes that nothing will happen but there is a chance that in the transfer I may loose a few of my email subscribers' subscriptions. I apologize in advance for this. Should you not receive your regular emails from me after July 10th, you may need to go back onto my site and re-subscribe. My site address will remain the same: www.lapommedeportland.com

2. In case you want any recipes for Fourth of July, I encourage you to print them off soon. :) Once the site transfer happens, all recipes, new and old, will be available again.

Counter-Top Salads
Sometimes there just isn't time to cook. Sometimes I don't want to cook. During the summer, I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen especially considering that we've just come off of the coldest, wettest spring on record in 117 years...I want to be outside where it is finally sunny. One of my favorite meals when I'm feeling like this is the ole counter-top salad. Basically, pull out any leftover bits and pieces from your refrigerator and slap them on the counter with some lettuce as a base and a vinaigrette as a topping and voila....dinner. I'm always amazed at the things my children will put on their salads...that I didn't think they would like...when I let them choose their own toppings.

Ingredients
Of course, these ingredients could be anything you have leftover but here are my favorites....

a head or two of romaine lettuce, washed and coarsely chopped
cherry tomatoes
blanched green beans
cooked red potatoes, cut into quarters
hard boiled eggs
leftover roasted chicken
crumbled gorgonzola
and usually, I put a little crumbled bacon on top or avocado but I didn't have any leftover this time

homemade vinaigrette, recipe here.


Directions
I'm assuming that most of this is leftover from other meals but should you be making it from scratch, here are a few quick tips.

To blanch green beans, trim the ends then put in boiling water for two minutes. Drain the water and immediately run cold water over them to stop them from cooking.

To cook your potatoes, wash them, quarter them and put them in a pot of salted boiling water for about 12-15 minutes or until just softened. Drain water and set aside.

For the hard boiled eggs, everyone has a different method for the timing but I put mine in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to very, very low and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them.

For your chicken, get a roasted one from the grocery store.

Put all of your ingredients out on your counter...plates at one end, vinaigrette at the other and let the troops have at it. Quick and easy....enjoy.

...


Organizing Project
The only thing I have been organizing is my summer....travel dates, camp registrations, down time, up time...so that I can simply enjoy and not have to worry about the details.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Cherry Tomato and Asparagus Summer Salad on AM Northwest

So, my dear friends, this week has been filled with milestones, celebrations and a few tears on the part of yours truly. One headed to high school, one to middle school and one leaving that sweet, sweet year of Kindergarten and as I've said before every first for my littlest one is a monumental last for me. To say, "last day of Kindergarten" is a bit extra-emotional for me. Me, the weeper.

I'm sure you will understand when I say that I won't have one of my usual musings post this week. My time this week is being spent with family but I do leave you with a live version of a delicious summer salad I posted on La Pomme last July. Toss in a little chicken, some leftover grilled steak or serve it on the side of your grilled salmon. A perfect summer meal!!

Cherry Tomato and Asparagus Salad

Brought to life on AM Northwest

Click here for the recipe. (It's the second recipe...although the first one is good too!)

If a video screen does not appear above this line, click here to be taken directly to the site.


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

And Now, I Pass It To You....Cowboy Caviar

"basil, lettuce, rice, peanut butter, shallots, eggs, butter, Parmesan cheese, pasta, parsley, thyme, rosemary, ketchup, oatmeal, raisins, whole grain mustard, sesame oil, vanilla extract, avocados, cherries, black eyed peas, corn, cantaloupe, lime, cilantro, salmon, flatbread, goat cheese, hot dogs, hot dog buns, hummus, salsa, pancake mix, tea, ovaltine, cherry tomatoes, Nana's jam, soy sauce, milk........"

With a pile of cookbooks, notebooks and recipe cards spread out before me providing inspiration, I make my list of groceries that I plan on hauling to the Oregon coast for our two week vacation.  The first week to be joined by my side of the family, the second week by my sweetie's.

"First Dinner - App-Guacamole, Dinner - Grilled salmon-tomato/shallot compote or just salt and pepper?, green salad, rice, green beans, Birthday cake for Mom. Second Dinner - App-Cowboy Caviar, Dinner - marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes, artichokes, bowl of cherries......."

I follow that up with my list of possible dinner menus.

I realize that when most people go on vacation, they perhaps spend their planning days laying out the activities that they will partake in on said vacation. I, on the other hand, think of the food possibilities. I get excited by the endless options. I liken it to that of a child making her list for Christmas. The glimmer in her eyes. The hope. The anticipation. The jubilation. And the beauty of it is, I'm not alone in this. In the weeks leading up to this vacation, I receive calls from my sister, my mother, my sister-in-law, my sweetie to talk about....food. Who's bringing what? Who's preparing this? Who's ordering out for that? Calls come in from shopping trips to Costco, "Just picked up a bag of those multi-grain chips we like so you don't need to get those." Text messages are flying back and forth from the next group coming out to the coast, "@grocery store, need anything?"

Now, of course, once we're there we partake in all of the usual beach activities...the boogie boarding, the sand castle building, the sand boarding, the dune climbing, the tide pool investigating, the beach combing, the bike riding, the lighthouse visiting, the whale watching, the sun bathing, the book reading, the puzzle making, the game playing, the bonfire building...actually, scratch that, we don't do the bonfire building...too cold. But through all of this, in the back of my mind is always, "When can I start preparing our next meal?

And once we're all crammed around the table on a various assortment of chairs, we continue to share, not just the meal at hand, but also, other meals and recipes that came before. An idea on preparing mussels with curry or marinating steaks with soy sauce and mustard. How to cook clams on the grill. Other ideas for vinaigrettes. Dips for artichokes. Chocolate cakes versus vanilla. We "ooh and aah" over new dishes prepared for us. The way one family sets up a taco bar that differs from our own way yet provides inspiration. And I guess that's what we take away from all of this is...inspiration. In sharing our food, our ideas, our recipes with one another we pass along a bit of ourselves. The bit that comes directly from our own kitchens. Our own homes.

I believe that Molly Wizenberg said this best when she wrote in her book, A Homemade Life:
"When I walk into my kitchen today, I am not alone. Whether we know it or not, none of us is. We bring fathers and mothers and kitchen tables, and every meal we have ever eaten. Food is never just food. It's also a way of getting at something else: who we are, who we have been and who we want to be."

Cowboy Caviar

This is one of those recipes that has circled around my neighborhood dozens of times. I requested it from my neighbor Renae who had it passed along to her by another neighbor. Get together in our neck of the woods and this dip always shows up on an appetizer table without fail. Introduce it into a new group and you will, mark my words, receive emails the following day with requests for the recipe. It couldn't be simpler. It's delicious and it's pretty darn good for you to boot. Obviously tortilla chips are its usual side-kick but I've been known to scoop it up with sliced red bell peppers or to spoon it over toast for breakfast.

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can black eyed peas
1 12-15 oz. can of corn
2 avocados, cubed
1/2 c chopped tomatoes
2/3 c cilantro, chopped
2/3 c green onion, chopped
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Gently combine all of of the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. If possible, let sit at least a half an hour before serving so the flavors have a chance to mingle. Set it out on an appetizer table and watch it disappear. Enjoy


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

A River. A Tent. A Simple Satisfying Sandwich.

The kids were geared up. They had on their road warrior hats and there wasn't a single complaint to be found. No, "Are we almost there?" No, "I'm bored." They knew our destination. Had been looking forward to it for a year. This annual pilgrimage to "The River." The Eel River, to be exact. We had left behind the tightly packed Douglas firs. Almost brillo-like in the way they densely covered the sharp slopes flanking I-5. We had said good-bye to the rolling hills of Southern Oregon speckled with maples. And, we were currently snaking our way past the awe-inspiring and rather haunting California Redwoods. As we slowly made our way up the shady, narrow road, the 5-year old called out excitedly, "Mom?! Where's the Endor Base?" "Mom? Mom? Is that where the speeders go?" While I looked out the window and saw...Majestic. Colossal. Beauty. He looked out the window and saw...Ewoks. Clone Troopers. Battle scenes from Star Wars VI. (The other two didn't see anything. They were conked out thanks to the Dramamine. A must for all but the strongest stomachs on the winding stretch of highway through the Smith River Canyon.)

What is it about the summer road trip? The anticipation of sleeping in a tent that allows children, who can barely sit for half an hour to enjoy their dinner, to sit for 8 or 9 hours straight in a car without complaining? The only question on their lips being, "When can we go to the river? Can we go to the river right when we get there? When? When? When?" And sure enough, upon our arrival, there was no holding them back. No setting up camp. Just a flurry of bathing suits and sunscreens and they were off.

Maybe the answer lies in its simplicity. The way that the older ones ferry the younger ones in a small boat across the "deep end" over and over, all day long. Neither party growing tired of the trip. Back and forth. Back and forth. The way the older ones jump off the rock into the river, over and over, all day long. Never growing tired of scaling the rock up past the poison oak and jumping again. Scaling and jumping. Scaling and jumping. Or, maybe it's the simple thrill of "night swimming." The rush that comes from conquering something that you feared. Or, the way that the Moms, best friends, sisters, still exhausted from the school year, are allowed to simply sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. In the sun. Talking about this and that. Sipping our sparkling water. A bottle of Rosé. At one point, I inquired of my 10-year old in a private moment, "So, are you having fun?" He looked at me, a bit puzzled and replied, "Mom? Are you kidding me? This is my warcraft." And he pushed off into the water, kicking his inner tube down the river. The same kind of black inner tube I played on in my grandparents creek during the summer.

Of course, one can't think of tents and rivers and campfires without thinking of food. Food that's been simplified. Paired down. No cookbooks. No recipes. A loaf of purchased pound cake, sliced and left on a table for children to grab as they walk by for breakfast. A cooler full of sandwiches...pb and j, salami and cheese, turkey with hummus and vegetables. A bag of Rainier cherries. Canteens full of water. And in the evening, salmon and halibut that have been grilled to perfection with only a brush of olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic salt for seasoning. A pot of buttered noodles and a salad of greens tossed with olive oil and lemon juice. Salt and pepper. Easy. Uncomplicated. No pressure, food. And even though I rather loathe marshmallows, every year at this time, there's nothing quite like the perfectly roasted S'more for dessert.

Then at night, cuddled up in a tent, after a day of water and sun, all one really needs is a pillow, a sleeping bag, an air mattress and some night air for a deep sleep. Well, actually, that is if you aren't me with my genetic disposition toward light sleeping and dog hearing. Which, even though it does not render me a full night's rest, does allow me to hear foiled attempts to teepee the teenage girls' tent by a couple of teenage boys...and then, to lay there and do nothing but smile to myself. The following day, I hear myself explaining to my teenage daughter who was aghast upon learning about the attempted prank, "They do and say these things because they like you." And her saying to me impatiently, "Mom, you always say that." And I guess I do. Just like my parents said it to me. And I wonder, "Is it true?"

Back through the Redwoods. Past the rolling hills and up to the familiar Doug firs. The only sound to be heard is the occasional, "Mom, can we stay longer next year?" The kids each thinking about what type of water contraption they're bringing next time. Me thinking about the food. Those sandwiches by the river. That bottle of Rosé. And sitting. Just sitting.


A Simple Satisfying Summer Sandwich
Let's be honest, sometimes in our overcomplicated world, we overcomplicate food as well. Summer with all of its fresh produce provides us with an opportunity to simplify because summer produce doesn't need much except slicing. We couldn't get enough of these sandwiches on "The River." Paired with a handful of Rainier cherries and a glass of sparkling water or chilled wine....it doesn't get much better than this.

Ingredients:
2 slices of your favorite whole grain bread.
(I prefer Dave's Killer Bread or La Brea Whole Grain Bread)
2-3 slices of tomato
4-5 slices of cucumber
4-5 slices avocado (or in a pinch, leftover guacamole)
thinly sliced red onion
salad greens
your favorite hummus
salt and pepper
optional: a couple slices of turkey

Directions:
Slather both sides of your bread with the hummus. Place your sliced vegetables and your turkey on one side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then, pile on the greens. Grab your unencumbered slice and flip it over on top. Cut in half on the diagonal. Pack away in a cooler for later or grab a plate, put your sandwich on it, a handful of cherries and go outside to enjoy. Best eaten with fresh air.


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010