Lately it seems like everything I have is covered with mud. Saturday I had to hose off the clothes I wore in the vineyard so they’d be clean enough to put in the washer. However Sunday evening, when the sun finally peeked through the clouds, was a joyous occasion. With the sun warming my face for the first time in weeks, I felt lighter and euphoric.
I welcome spring as I do every year. I picked three asparagus spears, kale, chard, scallions and radicchio from my garden. The greens inspired a beautiful salad to go with citrus chicken and rice.
Spring-greens Salad
1 grapefruit
2 clementines, sectioned
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped or torn
fresh mixed greens, cleaned and chopped
1 handful dried cranberries
dressing:
1/3 c. grapefruit juice
1/3 c. olive oil
1 splash balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. fresh lemon thyme, chopped or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Cut away the grapefruit peel and carefully cut out each section. Reserve the sections for topping the salad and squeeze the juice from the remaining membrane into a bowl. Pour into a glass jar while straining the seeds, add the remaining dressing ingredients, secure with a lid and shake.
Kale can be a tough green, so once cleaned and torn, toss with a small amount of dressing and let sit while preparing the rest of the meal. The acid in the dressing will soften the kale. When ready to serve, add the rest of the salad items with the kale in a large bowl. Toss and serve with more dressing.
Lemon Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 large lemon, juiced
1 tsp. garlic minced
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Place chicken and remaining ingredients in a sealable storage bag. Massage to coat chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate in a shallow bowl for about 30 minutes. When ready to cook, sear dried chicken on both sides in an oven-safe skillet. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken, cover with lid and cook in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes.
I like to serve citrus chicken over rice, but not just plain rice. At the very least, I use chicken stock instead of water. And I also add carrots, celery and onion – green peas if I have them. For this dinner I used a combination of white and brown quick-cook rice.
Vegetable Rice
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
3 c. chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 c. rice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sauté onion, carrots and celery in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the carrots are almost tender, add chicken stock and peas. Bring to a boil, add rice, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff rice and vegetables with a fork before serving.
That delicious springtime dinner serves 4-6. Since there’s just the three of us, we have leftovers for lunch one day this week.