Chicken and White Bean Salad

Weeeeeha!  I finally got my desktop computer out of it's box and set up on my shiny new desk.  Today I get to work in comfort with a real keyboard and my lovely large 22" monitor.

 

And now have a beautifully cleared and polished dining room table that will no longer function as my office.  It's like a grown up lives here!

Close up of the thoughtful and cute housewarming giftie from my friend Ingmarie.  She's so creative when it comes to this stuff!

I should probably chill that wine, but it's so cute in it's little basket. :)

Anywho...back to yesterday...

Coffeeeeee....

Starbies Denver mug courtesy of my coworker Michelle who was living there for a few months.

Breakie....

Shocker.  More Squirrelly toast with PB and Supercrack.  Anyone know where to buy Crofters Supercrack Spread in Victoria? I need to restock on the other flavours.

My Mom brought me these tasty little LaCalera oranges...they've been hanging out in my fruit bowl and I almost forgot about them.  Kinda like a clementine or mandarin but firmer.

Lunchie...

Pickles wrapped in turkey, wheat crackers, grapes, and Wensleydale cheese...

I didn't know it could happen...but I think I met a cheese I don't really like.  Firmness and texture is lovely but taste is kinda bland and pasty.  Too bad!  I very much enjoyed the Wensleydale with blueberries that Miss Marie served me...must need the fruit!

It was good if I paired it with the grapes.  I'll eat it up but it won't make my shopping basket in the future.

After lunch I took another trip to my new massage therapist.  We have now assessed that we think all of my glute/leg pain may actually be stemming from either my hip or my pelvis so I'm going to see a chiropractor today.  The massage is totally helping but if it's actually an alignment issue one or two treatments may cure the problem.  Let's hope!

Afternoon snackie...

I can't wait to have time and ingredients to bake some of my own healthy snacks...but Kashi is a good holdover. :)

Deeeelish Dinner...

Another yummy recipe from Eating Well magazine.  You may likely see quite a number of recipes pop up here because I flagged a bunch to try!  Chicken and White Bean Salad...

So fresh and fiberific!  This salad was really all about the dressing for me.  They refer to it as their All Purpose Vinaigrette which I'm not sure I would agree with as it wouldn't suit all dishes, but the zing from the orange juice and garlic went incredibly well with the chicken and white beans.

Vinaigrette: (I halved this)

• 1 medium clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice, plus more to taste (I used Tropicana)
• 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Peel the garlic and smash with the side of a chef’s knife (I just grated mine using my microplane). Using a fork, mash the garlic with salt in a small bowl to form a coarse paste. Whisk in oil. Add orange juice, vinegar and mustard; whisk until well blended. Taste and whisk in up to 4 tablespoons more juice to mellow the flavour; season with more salt, if desired. Set aside at room temperature.

It is pretty tart straight up out of the bowl, but I added a little extra OJ to smooth it out...then once mixed with the salad it was just right!  Especially with the fresh basil in the actual salad.

For the salad itself I followed the magazine recipe pretty much to the letter.  I used white kidney beans, goat feta in place of the haloumi and romaine instead of escarole...and only made a half batch.  It's a bit of work getting everything all chopped up, but once you do it's easy from there.  :)

I let the chicken, veggies, beans and cheese marinate in the dressing for about 30 minutes in the fridge...then mixed up the romaine and radicchio when I was ready to eat.

I love that the chicken makes it feel hearty, but the veggies and zingy dressing keep it fresh and crunchy.  The beans are a healthy added protein...and the cheese is just plain tasty.  :)  This salad would lend itself well to lots of modifications...I can see shredded carrots or beets!  Whatever you like really.  Let me know if you give it a whirl.

I'm betting my bowl of leftovers will be even better with 24 hours of marinating in the vinaigrette. mmmmmmmm.

After that tasty meal I got to work on setting up my computer...snacked on some Goldfish crackers...drank a lot of water (massage day must do!)...then called it a fairly early evening.

I satisfied my sweet tooth with these fun organic gummy worms I found hiding out in my road trip snack bag (which I finally just unpacked!).  Tasted like real juice!  But still felt like a sneaky treat!  :)

nom. nom. nom.