What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had for dinner?
Tonight I had:
Mung beans tossed in butter, salt, and pepper. Mung beans. Yea… not ideal.
Frozen corn, made unfrozen in boiling water… tossed with butter, salt, and pepper.
A flour tortilla… while standing over my desk, looking glossy-eyed at my massive to-do list.
A sprig of parsley. I dunno. Because it was green and there on the counter.
Water from my water bottle… followed by a hearty slug of bourbon, poured over tiny ice cubes.
… I’m also really bad at re-filling the ice tray. Future husband, I’m sorry. I love you. I hope you hate ice.
And, for dessert, a frozen chocolate cupcake. I’m about 7 seconds away from going to grab another cupcake from the freezer. Believe that.
This is what I eat when left to my own devices. Clearly, I should not be left alone. I’m not sure how much longer I can survive like this… I’m a complete weirdo. Someone hold my hand and make me cook you dinner… that’s the only way I eat like a regular person.
These avocados? See how nicely sliced they are? This is the sign that I’m cooking for others, and not just standing in my kitchen eating tortillas.
I like fruit in my salad. I especially like citrus. I super especially like citrus if it’s sliced all fancylike.
Segmented. Totally classy, right?
Oranges are easy to segment. Once the peel is stripped, you just have to slice in between the natural orange segment markers/ skin bits/ pith marks… what the word I’m looking for?
I made dressing too!
The dressing is inspired by my favorite mason jar/ good olive oil/ fresh cracked pepper/ and Tracy’s mom.
Salad dressing. Shaken. It’s cathartic. Cats pay no attention.
But wait! Are my hands starting to look suspiciously 30 years old? Don’t answer that. (Yea… they kinda are) ((Don’t agree with that… thanks)).
This salad is simple, bright, and completely adaptable. Try grapefruit instead of orange segments. Peaches? Yes. Strawberries? Ok!
Arugula instead of Romaine? Do that? Did you say spinach? I like the way you think.
It’s salad. No biggie. Make it your own… then serve it to others.
I’d also like to distract you with the crazy delicious bread I made to go along with this salad. It has strawberries on it, and I can’t wait to tell you about it on Wednesday.
Look at this spread! Wine and bourbon and bread and such.
Avocado Orange Salad
serves 4 to 6 people
inspired by Shutterbean and yummy salady things
For the Salad:
1 large head of Romaine lettuce
1 Navel orange, segmented
2 ripe avocados, sliced
a handful of fresh, chopped flat leaf parsley is also nice
For the Dressing:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
2 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 egg yolk (if you don’t want to use a raw egg, 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt is great!)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste
To prepare the salad:
Coarsely dice and rinse the Romaine lettuce. Place in a large platter. Segment the orange by first slicing off about 1/2-inch of the bottom and top. Slice down the sides of the orange, cutting through all of the pith to reveal the orange flesh. At an angle, slice in between the natural orange segments. A clean orange slice should pop out. Easy! Halve and slice or dice the avocado. Sprinkle oranges segments and avocado slices over the lettuce.
To prepare the dressing:
Combine all ingredients except the olive oil, salt, and pepper in a jar with a sealing lid. Tighten the lid and give the ingredients a good shake. Remove the lid and add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Replace the lid and shake until dressing is well blended and emulsified. Drizzle over salad. Dressing will last, sealed in the refrigerator, for 3 or 4 days.
Lola
30 is young … What are you talking about ?
peachkins
I will be making this salad…just you wait and see…
I miss you, I’ve been on a vacation and I totally miss you..
Libera
i wanted something super summery, super light and refreshing, and super fast for dinner .. so i whipped this together and it was delish!! avocados and oranges are two of my favs. love love loveee the dressing. oh, and i also added a handful of pine nuts to add a tiny crunch. very nom :)
Koryu
We had the salad last night with warm bread and grilled chicken and it was brilliant! Even though it meant a week long wait for the silly avocados to ripen. oO But hey, it made it all the better to finally prepare it after all the anticipation. I love the dressing.
I used natural yogurt instead of the egg and it worked out lovely and smooth with a bit of a crunch from radishes I had growing in the garden and baby gem lettuce.
Sadie
Or radish! For peppery crunch.
Sadie
I looked at this and thought, ‘Oh that would be so nice with rocket! What’s arugula?’ Thanks google for explaining they’re different names for the same thing. Yum!