Music: Unthinkable by City and Colour

Via This is Our Jam

Grilled Cheese... on the Grill

Ok so it's not regular grilled cheese but this fun recipe I saw on the Whole Foods website: Grilled Goat

Cheese and Artichoke Toasties. Except they weren't really grilling them. They cooked them in a grill pan on the stove. Bummer... because they are delicious on the grill. I even accidentally took a video! -->>>

Simple to make with a few pantry staples, this is a healthy app for a party and/or a nice lunch.


8-10 ounces goat cheese
1 (14.1-ounce) can artichokes, packed in water, drained and chopped (I like big chunks you can taste!)
1/2 cup jarred pimientos, drained and finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
4 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped (this was way too much - next time we might leave it out altogether or cut back to just one.)
8 thick slices whole wheat hearth bread (Publix bakery makes a nice round loaf of multigrain bread)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat a grill to medium-low heat. In a bowl, mash together goat cheese, artichokes, pimientos, oregano and green onions. Spread evenly on one side of each slice of bread. Arrange on the grates and cover (with the grill lid). Grill until bread is deeply browned on the bottom and cheese is warm, about 5 minutes. Top with parsley and serve.

Original recipe here.

In the spirit of the Summer of Salads, can this be considered a spreadable salad? It's full of veggies... and would also be good on crackers or as a dip with even more veggies.

Grilled Coconut Lime Chicken Salad with Quinoa and Tropical Fruit

This recipe was a real experiment. I took parts of different recipes and adapted them to what I envisioned.

Thomas had requested a salad with pineapple (and cantaloupe... but that part will have to wait!). Lime coconut chicken sounded like a good complement for pineapple. I hoped to add quinoa but wasn't sold until I found a recipe for lime quinoa. Add some mango and viola! We had this for dinner Monday night and it was amazing!!

Grilled Coconut Lime Chicken Salad with Quinoa and Tropical Fruit

Serves 4.

For the marinade and dressing:
5 Tablespoons peanut oil

1 Tablespoon coconut oil
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
4 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
3 teaspoons kosher salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup coconut milk

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded out to an even thickness, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick

Whisk together all the marinade ingredient in a medium sized bowl. Place the chicken and 3/4 cup to 1 cup of marinade in a gallon ziploc bag. Squeeze any air out of the bag, then continue turning the bag to make sure the chicken is coated in marinade. Place bag in refrigerator for at least two hours. Reserve the remaining marinade as dressing for the salad. Cover and refrigerate. Grill the chicken approximately 5 minutes per side over high heat, or until cooked thoroughly. Remove from grill; allow to cool and then slice for the salad. 

For the lime quinoa:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, or even water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 lime, juiced and zest freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Add the quinoa and stock (or water) to a saucepan over high heat and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the coconut oil (you can swap butter), lime juice, zest, salt and pepper.

For the salad:

Romaine lettuce, chopped, about 5 ounces

Spinach, about 8 ounces

Prepared chicken

Lime quinoa

Mango (we used 2 nice ripe ones; one would be enough for 4 people)

Pineapple (we grilled half a pineapple the day before and chopped it for this salad; would be fine raw as well)
1 red bell pepper (we used left grilled red and green pepper and onion), sliced

4 carrots, cut into match sticks (or whatever shape you like!) 

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1-2 limes, cut into wedges

To assemble the salad, make a bed of lettuce and spinach on each plate then add each of the toppings. Sprinkle cilantro on the chicken, or the whole salad. Serve with the reserved coconut lime dressing (which is especially delicious on the lime quinoa!). 

Lime coconut chicken recipe from Fine Cooking here; came to me via pinterest from this adaptation from Chaos in the Kitchen here. Lime quinoa recipe found here on How Sweet It Is.

Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad

I found this Curtis Stone (remember Take Home Chef??) recipe on pinterest, posted by Menu Musings. It's easy and delicious! We adapted the recipe a little, including adding mandarin oranges.

Marinade, chicken and dressing
¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp very finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha
¼  tsp kosher salt
2 (9-oz) boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup minced red onions, white and green parts

Salad
2 lb napa cabbage, halved lengthwise, very thinly sliced crosswise
5 carrots, shredded or cut into matchstick-size strips
3 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced on a sharp diagonal
⅔ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
1 can (11-ounce) mandarin oranges, drained (we used the kind packed in light syrup)

1. Marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk soy sauce, ginger, canola oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and salt to blend. Transfer 4 Tbsp of the marinade to a gallon ziplock bag, add chicken, and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

2. Dressing: Whisk vinegar and green onions into the remaining marinade. Set aside.

3. Heat the grill to medium-high. Remove chicken from marinade, add to grill, and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until chicken shows no sign of pink when pierced in the thickest part with the tip of a small sharp knife. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes.

4. Cut chicken crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices.

5. Salad: In a large bowl, toss chicken, cabbage, carrots, scallions, cilantro, and half of the almonds with enough dressing to coat lightly.

6. Mound salad in center of 4 plates. Re-whisk dressing and drizzle a little over and around salad. Sprinkle with the mandarin oranges, remaining almonds, and sesame seeds.

See Curtis's original recipe here, and Menu Musing's post about it (step by step photos!) here.

Quote of the Week

I will be grateful for this day.
source

Music: Never Mind the End by Tei Shi

Found this version of the song to share (original here is super creepy, which doesn't negate the greatness of the song but does detract...). Via This is Our Jam.

Pool Time

Things are looking good out by the pool. We love the new liner!

new table and new cushions for the chairs.
(burger Friday last week)