Chicken Salad Pita Sandwiches with Lemon, Dill, & Pancetta

The last few weeks have been full of: cold but sunny blue skies, blooming cherry blossom trees, pouring rain, hail, and snow. The glimpse of clear-skied weather on the horizon, paired with an even more soggy dreary grey, has me longing for spring and summer so hard. I miss sitting on a patio, sipping a cool crisp white or rose as the sun sets. I miss using the grill and watching things grow in my garden bed. I miss jogging outside with bare arms. I miss sun ripened berries and stone fruits. Deargod I miss nectarines.


How glorious does a picnic sound right now? Like a lazy, warm, afternoon picnic in a park, with a summery wine and a fresh, bright tasting sandwich, a few good friends or just a good book. SIGH. I�m so over winter right now.

These chicken salad pita sandwiches are inspired by a sandwich I like at a spot near my office. Shredded roasted chicken is tossed in a tangy, lemony dressing, with briny capers, lots of fresh dill, and crunchy, salty pancetta, then rolled up in pita pocket with tangy Havarti and crispy peppery greens. This sandwich feels like sun and spring, even if your picnic is actually inside, in front of the fireplace.

Chicken Salad Pita Sandwiches with Lemon, Dill, & Pancetta

Makes 2 big sandwiches, 4 halves

8 thin slices of pancetta (you can usually get  at the deli counter�if you can�t find it, then  use 4 slices of regular bacon) 5 oz cr�me fraiche (approx. � cup plus  two tablespoons�the kind I buy comes  in a 5oz cup) 1 tablespoon mayonnaise Juice from 1/2 lemon (approx. 1  overflowing tablespoon) Heaping tablespoon fresh dill, chopped 2 tablespoons capers, plus splash of their brine/juice 1 tablespoon finely diced red onion 2 cups shredded, roasted chicken (already cooked, I used a store bought  rotisserie chicken) Salt and black pepper, to taste 2-4 slices Havarti cheese Handful of fresh greens (I prefer the  peppery bite of arugula/spinach mix) 2 pita pockets

First, cook pancetta in a skillet over medium heat, similar to how you cook bacon, until it�s crispy. Drain on a paper towel, set aside, and crumble once cool. In the bottom of a medium-large bowl, whisk together cr�me fraiche, mayo, lemon juice, and dill. Stir in capers (with splash of juice) and onions. Add pancetta crumbles and chicken, and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste (as well as more lemon or dill, as you wish). Heat each pita pocket about 10-15 seconds in the microwave, until it�s pliable. I like to make pita pocket wraps� to do that, you slice open the top seam of the pita, fill it, and roll it into itself. You can learn how on the internet. You can also just cut in half and stuff each half. First, put in 1-2 slices of havarti, depending on how much cheese you like, then a couple scoops of the chicken salad, a pile of the greens, and roll it up. Cut in half to serve.

March 10 - Boost Your Skills & Your Resum�: Come to our Design & Clear Language Workshop

There are still a couple of spaces left at our 

FREE Clear Language Workshop Friday, March 10th

 

Want to make a bigger impact on your audience? Join us at McGill Library from 1:00 - 3:30pm to learn design and writing tips to make your posters, brochures and literature easier to understand.

Registration information below:

Roasted Carrots and Asparagus w/ Avocado

I've made dishes similar to this one before (seen here) but I just can't get enough of the carrot/avocado combination.  I can't, I tell you, I can't!  Even though our weather is seventy degrees one day and snowing the next, I'm channeling springtime with these vegetables: sweet carrots and crisp asparagus, roasted in garlic, red pepper flakes and cumin, and then topped with a zesty greek yogurt, creamy avocado and crunchy pumpkin seeds.   It's a delicious blend of flavors and textures, and I think you'll love it as much as I do.    

Roasted Carrots and Asparagus w/ Avocado 

Adapted from here

(Serves 4)

Printable Recipe

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed off

1 bunch small carrots, stems removed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1 cup greek yogurt

Zest of one lime

1 avocado, sliced

Handful of pumpkins seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Place carrots and asparagus in a large bowl, and add garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes and a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Pick the carrots out of the bowl and place on baking sheet.  Roast for 10 minutes, then add asparagus and roast for another 20.  Remove from oven and place on a serving dish.  While the carrots are roasting, add the lime zest to the yogurt and stir.  Top veggies with sliced avocado, dollops of yogurt and pumpkin seeds.  Season to taste.  

TODAY tonight: Smoky Bacon Mac & Cheese

Goooooood morning, Internet!  I'm back with another TODAY tonight, which is a series where I make something at home that Carson ate at work and absolutely loved, mostly just to get him to shut up about it.  Just kidding!  I love hearing him talk!  Anyway, after he tried this Smoky Bacon Mac & Cheese (along with the gruyere and caramelized onion one) he said it was probably the best thing he's ever eaten on the show, and that Matt Lauer shared similar sentiments.  That's a pretty good review, if you ask me.  We had some friends over this weekend so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it and it, was, delicious.  Delicious enough to use commas inappropriately.  It's made with smoked gouda and pepperjack cheese, applewood smoked bacon and seasoned with cayenne and paprika... which all contribute to the most wonderful smoky flavor.  And it doesn't hurt that you use bacon fat to make the roux.  Definitely try it at your next gathering, especially if you're a bacon fan, and if you try the other one please send me your thoughts!   

Recipe HERE.

Raw Layered Cashew Cheesecake

A few months ago I decided to do the Whole 30. But really, I decided to do a Whole 5. If you don�t know about Whole 30, the gist is that it�s a 30-day elimination diet, wherein you don�t eat things that cause inflammation, including dairy, grains, legumes, processed sugar and maybe a few other things. Then at the end of the 30 days, you�re supposed to slowly add back in those items, which should help you find out if you have particular sensitivities. They can�t stress enough the importance of doing the entire 30 days, and they basically say you shouldn�t even bother doing just one week, because that�s not enough time for the toxins or whatever to leave your body.


So all that being said, I decided to try it for 5 days. I wasn�t actually going for inflammation reduction or anything like that, I just wanted a short week-long reset. Forced focus on eating whole foods and vegetables. I sort of hated it, for a few reasons, including weird indigestion issues.

I did, however, see one major benefit, even after only a few days: the puffiness under my eyes completely went away! I feel vulnerable talking about this, because it�s truly my biggest insecurity. I�m not talking like, minor didn�t sleep well puffiness that I see people complain about. My situation is different. I�ve always had it, that puffiness that looks like I knocked back one too many the night before or like I�m 20 years older than I am. Circles that I edit out of photos of myself. Circles that mean I will never take a �no makeup selfie.� It doesn�t matter how much water I drink or how tired I am or whether or not I�m hung over or took a Claritin. I�ve spent hundreds, probably thousands, of dollars on under-eye creams and gels and masks and concealers, to no avail� since my teens and early 20s. I�ve pretty much chalked it up to genetics (which by the way, I�ve done tons of research on� and it�s very real. PSA: please don�t just assume people are tired or sick if they have under-eye bags or circles or darkness or puffiness, because genetics could be a major reason� definitely don�t ask if they�re tired or sick. Ugh. Can't even tell you how many times...). I still think part of my problem is genetics / it�s not a problem, it�s literally just my face� but since my Whole 5 experiment  I�m hopeful I can reduce a bit of puffiness through diet. (�There�s nuttin� the mattuh with my face, I got character!� Name that movie. It�s one of my all-time favorites).

So since that little Whole 5 win, I�ve been looking into what food sensitivities can cause this, and a big one that came up is dairy. Obviously just going in and getting an allergy test would be the quickest, easiest solution, but instead I decided to try a series of ill-planned elimination diets. Ill-planned because A: I�m not doing it right� you�re supposed to cut everything out and then add it back in? I think? IDK, I�m the girl who did Whole 5. B: the same week I decided to take a dairy break, I ordered 4 pints of Jeni�s ice cream because FLASH SALE, so now that�s tempting me. Fortunately/unfortunately, I don�t think my problem is dairy. I�ve been off for a couple weeks and have noticed zero changes since cutting the cheese (ah! Haha. Ha.), and I noticed in just 3 days before. So, back to the drawing board / maybe I should just go get tested (is it sugar? Legumes? Is it gluten� please don�t say it�s gluten. If you know anything about this particular issue, let me know!!).

But, the actual point of this post is that while off dairy, I made a raw, cashew-based cheesecake-like situation. I don�t even really care about cheesecake that much. I would even venture to guess that I sometimes go multiple years between bites of cheesecake. But suddenly my dairy elimination had me craving creamy treats. So I combined two recipes that I�ve drooled over since I first saw them: the almost raw caramel slice from Oh Lady Cakes, and the cashew dream cake from My New Roots. So, we have a chewy nut-date crust, a tangy vanilla �cheesecake� layer, a light coconutty date-caramel layer, and some chocolate sauce.

Raw Layered Cashew "Cheesecake"

I wasn't planning on blogging this recipe, and I only took one pic, with my phone, but it was so easy to make and delish that I want to share. I won�t repost their full recipes here, because you can and should go to their sites for the clues. But here�s what I did, and I highly recommend you do the same, because this dessert is so, so good, whether or not you eat dairy.

Crust: I followed My New Roots recipe for the nut-date crust, but used a combo of pistachios and walnuts. I would even recommend adding a pinch of cinnamon for a baklava-type flavor. I�m not sure how she filled up a 7-inch springform, because for me, this was the perfect amount for a tiny 4.5x4.5 ish casserole dish (with deep-ish sides). I lined the dish with parchment paper (because I was fresh out of plastic wrap) so that I could pop the whole cake out when it was ready. Worked like a charm.

Filling: I soaked 1.5 cups of cashews (overnight). Then I used half of them in each layer.

For the vanilla cheesecake layer, I just halved the rest of the ingredients (so, you�ll be blending up � cup soaked cashews, juice of 1 lemon, � teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tbsp + 2 tsp of both melted coconut oil and honey). I scooped this filling onto the crust.

For the date caramel layer, I followed the instructions, with these exceptions: I used full-fat coconut milk instead of almond milk, and I used half the amount of dates. Not sure if my dates were bigger or not, but dates, while au-natural, still have a ton of sugar, and that seemed excessive to me (also, I didn�t even have that many dates), and it turned out perfect, so use your own judgement there. More dates might have made the consistency a bit firmer, but after a night in the freezer, it made no difference to me. I poured this layer (which was a bit runnier than the first) on top of the cheesecake layer. Then I covered the whole thing, and froze overnight.

For the chocolate drizzle, I followed the instructions in the Oh Lady Cakes recipe, but used super-dark cocoa powder, and also added a smidge of nut butter for funzies. I poured it on right when I pulled the cake out of the freezer, and because of the coconut oil, it hardened up to a nice little solid shell. I topped it with coconut flakes, let it sit for a few minutes and room temp, and then devoured slice by slice. 

Be a Food Hero: Come Learn How to Stop Food Waste (March 7)

March 4: Rally Against Poverty / March 15: Discussion - Income & Food