Arugula, Fennel, Blueberry, Toasted Almond Salad

I find going to the gym not only provides my body with the exercise it needs but my mind the fodder it needs on occasion.  I was standing around with a few ladies waiting for our class instructor to arrive when two of them struck up the conversation of "jonesing" (their words, so not mine) for new ink.  Then they proceeded to lift up articles of clothing to exhibit their hidden treasures and compare notes; which area was the most painful, which empty spots they had future plans for.  I felt slightly (actually make that extremely) uncomfortable at the moment.  How does one bow out of such an indelicate conversation and not seem like a total wet blanket?  I have surgery scars and other battle scars from falling out of a tree when I was little but no purposely-placed curiosities.

Not that I haven't entertained the idea from time to time, but I could never come up with a real reason to subject myself to pain on purpose.  I still vividly recall that my grandfather had an old lady on his arm. She was a wrinkly old prune with a sourpuss face.  As a young child I'm supposing my brain didn't know how to extrapolate that as you age the skin wrinkles and losses its collagen and elasticity and so goes anything you have placed on it.

I think it's time we slow the song down over here now, put on some easy listening and relax with an exceptional arugula salad selected for your eating pleasure:

Arugula, Fennel, Blueberry, Toasted Almond Salad

Dressing:

4 tablespoons minced shallot 

5 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small jar (a mason jar works great) and shake or stir until combined. Store leftover dressing in the fridge. 

Salad:

7 ounces arugula

1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted in a small skillet

6 ounces fresh blueberries

1 medium sized fennel bulb (white part), shaved thinly 

Place the arugula, almonds, blueberries, and fennel in a large salad bowl and toss with the dressing just prior to serving.

I also know it's probably a good thing I don't tell people about my strange food hobby, I can only imagine what kind of internal head convos they'd be having.

Enjoy,

Gina

Chicken Soup with Pastina & Arugula

You are probably scratching your head wondering, "What's up with the soup, when it's a well known fact that you were whooping it up in San Francisco this weekend at the Foodbuzz Festival".  Yes all the rumors I started on Twitter are true and I was there and I was whooping it up.  Maybe just a tad too much, I came home with a nasty cold.  I shouldn't be so ridiculous, there is no such thing as too much fun. 

Hopefully you will accept my offer of a bowl of delicious homemade soup and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.  While I curl up under a blanket and nurse my hangover cold.

Chicken Soup with Pastina and Arugula

(1) 4-5 pound whole chicken

Water

2 whole carrots, peeled

2 stalks celery

1 tbsp. salt

8 whole peppercorns

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs fresh thyme

8 ounces dried pastina

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 zucchini, chopped

1 cup arugula

Sourdough baguette

1)  Make soup stock:

Clean out anything from the inside of the chicken (oh you know what I'm talking about, don't make me get graphic) and trim off any excess fat.  Place the chicken in an 8 quart stock pot and add enough cold water to cover the chicken by 2-3 inches.  

Add the carrots, celery stalks, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme sprigs to the pot.  Bring soup to a boil, cover and then turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.

For the record:

You can use pre-made stock and I won't bore you with my 6,000 word lecture about the merits of making stock from scratch.  Just do me one favor and read the ingredients list, some of them don't even contain chicken, are you kidding me?

2)  Shred chicken:

Remove the chicken from the stock and remove any fat and shred the meat into a bowl.  Discard any bones. Set aside.

3)  Strain stock:

Place a piece of cheese cloth in a strainer and pour the stock over it and into another clean pot or a large bowl.  Discard the vegetables and return the stock to the pot and bring to a boil.  Skim any fat off the surface.

4)  Add vegetables and cook pasta:

Add the chopped carrots and celery to the stockpot and let cook for 10 minutes.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil with a little bit of salt.  Add the pastina to the boiling water and let cook for 7 minutes.  Drain and add the pastina to the stock pot.

Add the zucchini and cook 5 minutes longer.

5)  Serve:

Serve the soup with a little bit of arugula added at the end.  Season with a little additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  A sprinkle of Five Spice powder is really good too.

I choose to add the arugula for a little peppery punch and to add a little extra vitamins to help that cold along (wink, wink).

I charred sourdough crostini to serve on the side and I just love floating them in my soup instead of crackers.

Cook Time:  2 hours

Serves:  8

Hopefully this soup can fix anything that ails you; I feel the vitamins starting to work already and will give you the Festival rundown as soon as I can!

Enjoy,

Gina