Took off on a fun day out with one of my favorite homies today.....do you remember this girl from earlier posts?.................
She's my former boss, and her name is M. Lisa Monroe (SWEAR on a stack of bibles, the "M" stands for Marilyn!). And no, she doesn't always have a gin and tonic in her hand, but she prolly should, as she has a very high pressure job as the editor in chief of our local newspaper, The New York Times. Not really--The Adirondack Express. That's the paper I used to write a weekly food column for, before Lisa fired me. Not really--I "retired", and she does everything in her power on a daily basis to get me to return, but alas, her efforts are, tragically, always in vain. ANYWAYS, I love this woman--she is one of the wittiest, prettiest and snittiest chicks I know. Just perfect to have an adventure with--like today's. We took in a fabulous wedding gown exhibit at the Munson Williams Proctor museum in Utica, had lunch at my favorite cafe in Clinton called Nola's (Here comes that stack o' bibles again- RIGHT before a small reported tornado touched down!), and then went deep into the Amish New York countryside, hunting charming old farmhouses and barns. Because I soooooo wanna be a farmer chick, but I digress......
At lunch, Lisa and I had an interesting conversation about people who LIVE to EAT (like me!), and people who EAT to LIVE, like my dear old dad. Don't know what I mean? Well see, most of my family just adores food--it's so much more than sustainence to us. It's art. It's joy. It's IT, on a STICK! And then there's my dad, who seriously never thinks about food, ever, until he's really hungry. And then he's content with maybe a banana or a sliver of cheese. Just enough to silence his growling stomach. And that's probably why he has never weighed more than about 170 in his entire life (he's 6 feet tall). Anyways, sometimes I'm envious of that lack of foodie desire, and well, other times I kinda pity people like that. People who don't even salivate a little looking at a piece of peanut butter pie slathered in chocolate ganache, like Lisa and I did today at lunch. Ah well, the grass is always greener, I guess.
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I have a recipe for you today that is just gonna knock your socks off--my Fruited Wild Rice Salad. The perfect summertime side salad (or you can add grilled chicken to it and call it a meal). We love this recipe at my house--it's very pretty and super nutritious. Start by preparing a box of a wild rice mix. Set the cooked rice aside to cool a little....this is my favorite brand.....
I add the seasonings that come in the box, but you don't have to--just add your own to suit your taste. While the rice is cooking, peel and chop up 2 Golden Delicious apples, and toss with lemon juice to keep from browning......
To the apples, add golden raisins............
halved red grapes..............
fresh parsley (I have this growing on my patio)........
Then add the cooked wild rice and stir to mix...............
For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, orange juice and honey..............
Add dressing to rice mixture and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill for several hours. Right before serving, add roughly chopped pecans and lightly toss......
I hope you love this salad as much as we do!..........
Here's the recipe......
FRUITED WILD RICE SALAD
1 cup uncooked wild rice (or, 1 box wild rice mix with seasonings)
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
2 tblsp. ea. chopped parsley (you can also add fresh mint and/or chives to this)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup pecan halves, roughly chopped
Dressing:
1 / 4 cup olive oil
1 / 3 cup orange juice
2 tblsp. honey
Cook rice according to package directions; let cool slightly. Combine dressing ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add raisins, grapes, parsley and rice. Add dressing and toss. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight. Just before serving, add pecans and lightly toss.
TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR......
*Great girlfriends. Priceless--and such cheap therapy!
*Tonite's celebration: we just found out that our daughter landed the part-time position at her campus bookstore she really really wanted for next semester. So now she won't have to be the dirt poor American in Paris next spring!
*Our incredibly beautiful New York state countryside--the corn truly IS as high as an elephant's eye!
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