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.


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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.

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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

Strawberries in a Salad and Siblings Who Skip

It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea.  -Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet

"Mom, it's so embarrassing! Do you know what he does all day at school?"

"No, please tell me."

"He skips."

"Well, he's in kindergarten."

"Well, it's embarrassing. My WHOLE class was lined up to go into the gym and guess who came out of the bathroom and skipped past my WHOLE class and all the way down the hall?"

This eldest son of mine then proceeds to go through a litany of infractions committed by his younger brother. "He makes weird noises. He hums. He kicks my seat. He takes my Lego guys without asking. He follows me around at recess with his hands like binoculars. He barks at me with those stuffed dogs. And...he skips!"

I did not grow up with brothers. Brothers, plural, that is. I have a brother. My "little" brother. He had the distinct honor of providing me with a worthy subject on which to practice my mothering skills. And that was just it. I was more "Mommy Jr" to him than sibling rival. And so now, when confronted with this up-close sibling rival between brothers, I sometimes feel at a loss of what to do.

"Just stop it!! Stop it!!"

Hearing the screams and crying from the garage, I leave the kitchen (where I've been trying to make and eat a quick salad for lunch) and head out to investigate. Upon seeing me, the kindergartner cries out, pointing in the direction of his older brother, "He threw a basketball at my legs."

In defense the 5th grader shoots back, "Yeah well, I wasn't even doing anything and he did this to me." He then proceeds to put his thumbs in his ears, wiggle his fingers and stick out his tongue. Choking back a smile, I said to myself, "I thought they only did that on TV." But judging by the way the 6-year old was covering his guilty face with his arms, apparently my children do that as well.

Both boys looked at me as if to say some justice must be done. Not sure what to do, I thought back to a peace-making method my elder son's kindergarten teacher used to use and I enact my own version of it.

"Okay boys, come here. Closer. Face each other. Hold each other's hands."

"No."

"Hold each other's hands and look at each other."

The 11-year old rolls his eyes and begrudgingly grabs his brother's hands. The littler one opens his eyes wide like a zombie, grabs his brother's hands and then, proceeds to jump up and down, over and over, like a kangaroo.

"Now I want you to compliment each other. Say something kind about your brother."

This is not a new concept to them. During our family dinners on Sundays (when they actually happen) we take turns complimenting other family members. I can usually count on the 11-year old to come up with a little gem about his siblings.

"Come on guys. we're not leaving til you say something kind to each other."

"He's not holding my hand," cries out the little one.

"Stop jumping! That's so weird," the older one shoots back.

Finally, there is a moment of calm and a bit of silence. I can see the older brother gathering his thoughts and the littler one, no longer jumping but still wide-eyed, not knowing what to say.

"C'mon. Surely you can think of something," I say, looking at the older brother, hoping he'll set a good example.

"Okay, okay," says the older one as he gathers himself together. And then, looking deep into his little brother's eyes, he says with all sincerity, "Brother....your farts don't stink."

The little one's eyes grow even bigger, he starts jumping again and with a huge smile on his face, he fires back, "Yeah, well.....your poop doesn't stink!"

They both start cracking up. I try to stifle my smile, throw my hands up in defeat and head inside to finally eat my lunch, muttering, "Boys."

While I sit at the kitchen table enjoying the first of this season's strawberries, my eldest son walks through the kitchen and I say to him, "You know, you'll never be in school with him again...in your whole life. You two could grow up to be best of friends but it depends on how you treat each other now. You're going to miss having him around next year."

He continues walking past me but I can tell he's listening.

At the foot of the stairs, he says back to me, "I know I'll miss him."

And then further up the stairs, "But I won't miss the skipping!"

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A Strawberry, Hazelnut, and Goat Cheese Salad Drizzled with a Bit of Balsamic Vinaigrette

I have been reading about pairing sweet, luscious strawberries with piquant balsamic vinegar for quite sometime now and I thought it would be fun to try them out in a salad together. Sprinkle on some tangy goat cheese and nutty hazelnuts and you've got a salad fit for a Queen....or at least fit to keep you seated long enough to ponder on the intricacies of sibling rivalry and what to do about it.

I also show in the the photos above a clay ramekin from the talented guys & gals over at Olympic Provisions. Last weekend at the Farmer Market, they had kindly given me a ramekin of their homemade rillette to try on the baguette I was carrying around in my bag. I had never, knowingly, tried rillette. If you're curious to learn more, here's a wonderful post by the über-talented Matt Wright describing how to make and how to eat pork rillette. Once I figured out that I should bring it to room temperature and mix it all together (as opposed to just scraping the cold fat off the top), I discovered a luscious, rich meaty spread, perfect on a little piece of bread. Thank you, Olympic Provisions!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp shallot, minced (optional)
pinch o' salt
2-3 tbsp olive oil
couple handfuls of baby greens
1/2 cup or so of sliced strawberries
a sprinkling of crumbled goat cheese (feta might be good too.)
a sprinkling of roasted hazelnuts (or walnuts, almonds, whatever nuts you have on hand and I don't mean your children)
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine your vinegar and shallots, if you're using shallots, in a small bowl and let rest for 5-10 minutes. If not using the shallots you can skip the "resting" part.

Add your salt and whisk together. Then slowly, while whisking, drizzle in your olive oil.

Place your baby greens on a plate. Top with the strawberries, the goat cheese and the nuts. Drizzle on the balsamic vinaigrette to your liking. Add a few cracks of black pepper and...voila!

A couple slices of bread with rillette (or butter...or just plain), a glass of sparkling water and with each mouthful of your delicious salad you'll be able to feel summer drawing near. I realize that that is near impossible for those of us in Portland seeing as we haven't even had a spring but, nonetheless, I suggest giving it a try. Enjoy....

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Organizing Project
Rien. Nada. Nichts. Nic. Niente.

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Question for You
I get approached, from time to time, by vendors offering me products and cooking supplies to giveaway to you kind people who read my musings. Some of them are a good fit (coffee, chocolate, kitchen gadgets, etc.,) others (Ugg knock-offs) not so much. I am headed to Atlanta next week for the BlogHer Food Conference where I will undoubtedly be hit-up for these kinds of "giveaways."  Because I try to be sensitive to the amount of email that lands in your in-box, especially those of you who are so incredibly generous to subscribe to La Pomme de Portland, I have hesitated doing too many of these.

But you tell me, "Would you like to have me do more giveaways...provided they are a good fit?"

You can let me know in the comments below or in an email or ping me on Facebook.

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A New Look
And speaking of comments, I realize my "commenter" is cr---- (rhymes with pappy)....and not that I want you to feel obligated to comment but if you felt inclined to do so, it's almost impossible.

Well right now, behind the scenes, La Pomme de Portland is getting a face-lift. Part of this face-lift will include an easier way to comment/ask questions as well as an easy way to print the recipes or subscribe by email or search for recipes. And most importantly, hopefully it will just be easier to read.

If any of you have ever thought, "I sure wish Carrie would...." or "Why doesn't this....work better on Carrie's site?" or "Has Carrie ever considered...?" or  "I would like Carrie to post more about ...."

Please, please, feel free to send me your thoughts.


Thank you so much for reading!! You kind, sweet souls, taking time to read La Pomme....it makes me weep!


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

A Simple Salad & The Sound of Silence

The boxes have been put away. The vacuum has been run. The cheery red of the holidays has been replaced with winter whites. Linen. The poinsettias with bare branches. (Well, actually I didn't have any poinsettias but I like the way that sounds. Don't you?) The children are back at school and the only sounds I hear are those of my own footsteps and the soft, furry ones padding quietly behind me.

After the richness of the holidays, I want anything but.....so, here I sit with a simple salad laid out before me. A salad of spinach leaves, chevre sec (a dry goat cheese...you simply must), toasted walnuts and a homemade vinaigrette. Now don't be fooled by this salad's unassuming presence. One bite and you'll see that together the flavors are a carnival for your tongue. My fork hits the plate with a clank as I leave it to pick-up a piece of bread. A sip of water. And here I sit. Just me....and the cat. And listen. To the sound of silence.

Now, nevermind about the fact that my home happens to be located under the landing pattern for our local airport or the fact that a fleet of leaf blowers shows up every afternoon without fail (or so it seems) and fires up those dastardly things for what seems like hours when clearly the leaves are long since gone. What exactly are they "blowing around" out there? And is someone paying them to do this? And, yes, there's the train that seems to rumble right past my house blowing his horn even though in reality he's at least 5 miles away and we can't forget the most recent development....that of the apparent, afternoon, chainsaw session that takes place in the woods behind my house. Although, I have yet to see a felled tree or the chainsaw operator. What are they doing back there?

So, really...nevermind about all that. Silence is relative. I'm alone in my house. Just me...and the cat. Eating my salad. And it's silent.

A Simple Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

I absolutely LOVE this salad. I cannot stop eating it. So simple to make. In the winter, I make it with baby spinach leaves but once arugula season hits, I switch the spinach out for that. No matter which "leaves" you use, it's the homemade vinaigrette that ties together all of the flavors. And, if you have a daughter like mine who wanders into the kitchen, asking, "Watcha makin' Mom?" and then wanders out after having polished off the last bit of the vinaigrette on her own salad, you may want to make a double batch. As for the cheese, I was turned on to "chevre sec" (literally - dry goat cheese) a few years ago. It has a creamy texture with a consistency more like feta as opposed to the regular soft goat cheese. There is a fromagerie right here in Mollala, Oregon making this type of artisan cheese - Goldin Artisan Goat Cheese. I happened to find a tiny, little wedge of her Tomme Cuivree at New Seasons the other day. Needless to say, it is now gone.

The Salad

A handful of greens - spinach, arugula or baby

Crumbled goat cheese - I prefer the "chevre sec" but regular goat cheese will work just as well

Toasted walnuts - 350 degrees for 10 minutes or in a pinch, one minute in the microwave

Freshly ground pepper on the top

Sometimes I put a few sliced mushrooms in it, a few cucumber slices but not much else. I try to keep it simple

The Homemade Vinaigrette

(Inspired by David Lebovitz) While I have made many different types of vinaigrettes over the years, I recently stumbled upon this one and it is my new favorite.

1/8 tsp sea salt (or kosher salt or whatever salt you use)

1 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/2 small shallot, peeled, minced (about 1 tbsp)

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (I tend to use Maille or Edmond Fallot)

3 -4 tbsp olive oil (I usually use 4)

1. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, vinegar and shallot. Let stand for about ten minutes while you prepare your salad and/or roast your walnuts.

2. Mix in the Dijon mustard, then whisk in 3 tbsp of olive oil. Mix well, then taste. If it's too strong add the final tablespoon of olive oil and a bit more salt, if necessary.

Drizzle on your salad. Toss to lightly coat every little bit of salad on your plate with this golden vinaigrette. Eat. Sigh. Enjoy.

Yield: About 1/4 cup, enough for one large green salad.

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