An Autumn Salad. In the Heart of Summer.

Autumn Flavors., originally uploaded by razzieswirl.

I'm going to make this post quick and simple seeing as I already posted a recipe, and hope to post yet another this evening.

I made this salad mid-week after a long day, and a hard workout at the gym. It always lifts my spirits to work out really hard, and end the day by eating something amazingly delicious & healthy. This salad was perfect in achieving that feeling. Not only does it have protein (sharp cheddar, walnuts, and roast chicken) but it's got a huge serving of fruits (pear and apple) and veggies ( mixed wild greens and spinach) all topped with a sweet and tangy reduced apple cider vinagrette. All this, and it was fairly simple to throw together (picking up a roast chicken at the grocery store helped). It's also involved enough (picking the chicken off the bone, slicing the veggies, making the dressing) that I feel like I spent good quality time with the ingredients (cooking really relaxes my spirit). Plus, the cleanup was super easy, making my (finally) clean kitchen stay just that, clean.

Recipe: Autumn Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:
1/4 cup grated SHARP cheddar
1 apple sliced thinly (I used an organic Fuji, because they're generally really crisp)
1 pear sliced thinly
2 cups mixed greens (including spinach)
1/2 roasted chicken, plucked from the bones
4 TBLS roasted walnuts, chopped

Vinagrette:

1 cup apple cider/juice (use the good stuff people)
4 TBLS cider vinegar
2 tsp.
pepper to season

Directions:

Vinagrette:

1. Pour apple cider/juice into pan and reduce down on medium heat whisking occasionally until it's about 1/4 cup of liquid.
2. Remove from heat and add olive oil and cider vinegar.
3. Season with pepper and whisk vigorously.

Assemble:

1. Throw all salad ingredients into a nice bowl.
2. Drizzle with your delicious vinagrette.

And viola. A healthy dinner for two.