(Dried) Strawberry Balsamic Salad

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I took a break from blogging over the last week and a half while I had family in town (now I have EVEN MORE ideas swirling around in my head to post about-lists everywhere), so I thought I’d get back into the swing with an easy summer salad recipe!

(Dried) Strawberry Balsamic Salad

  • Butter lettuce
  • Diced red onion
  • Cut grilled chicken
  • Dried strawberries
  • Kosher salt/pepp
  • Drizzle balsamic vinegar
  • Drizzle olive oil

Mix everything but the strawberries together in a bowl and toss. Top with dried strawberries.photo (2)

The advantage of this salad is three-fold:

  1. Drying fruit is quick and allows you to use fruit that you may not be able to eat in time if it ripens too quick.
  2. Topping a salad with dried fruit is a great substitute for croutons! Crunchy, but healthier 🙂
  3. If you want the fruit soft-it re-hydrates really well after being tossed in with the dressed salad.

Thursday Thoughts

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The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.

–Henry Ward Beecher

 

Joshua Tree

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For several years now, I’ve talked about going to Joshua Tree (Seth might say incessantly). For some reason I have had this strong draw to go there, maybe to just be surrounded by nature? To get away from the daily grind in a big city? For serenity? Then I told my dad that Seth and I were finally heading to Joshua Tree, and he told me it was one of the places my Grandma Hazel actually remembered in her late life dealing with memory loss. Having such a special relationship with my Grandma, almost a kindred spirits type connection, now I knew why I was so drawn to go.

Seth and I went away for a long weekend over Memorial Day to a resort in Desert Hot Springs, and got up at 3:45 am one morning to drive the hour to the middle of the park, so we could watch the sunrise. It was everything I’d hoped it would be; beautiful, silent, serene and peaceful.

If you haven’t been, I’d recommend it. I realize it’s just a lot of pokey trees, but there is truly something magical about it.IMG_0213[1]IMG_0148[1]IMG_0156[1]IMG_0151[1]IMG_0164[1]IMG_0172[1]

Monkey Bars from The Paleo Mom!

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Last week I was craving something sweet, and for a couple of days the Monkey Bar recipe from The Paleo Mom kept popping up in my feeds. I don’t bake often anymore because I just don’t like the sugar, but I happened to have everything on hand (especially bananas that needed to be used), so I decided to give them a try! The recipe was very easy to follow, and easy to make.

You can find the recipe here: Paleo Monkey Bars. I made a few adaptations: I did not have crunchy almond butter, so I used smooth (Maranatha Brand), and I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour. I used about 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life chips in the batter. For the drizzle, I used about 1/4 cup of Enjoy Life Mini Chips melted with grass-fed butter. They turned out fabulous, however, the texture on day 1 is more dry/cakey, and on day 2 they started to get very moist. I’d suggest making them same day or night before, for a party or get together as they do not keep long.IMG_0518[1]

I used one of my favorite drizzle frosting tricks; prepare your melted frosting and then spoon into the corner of a ziploc baggie. Snip the corner of the bag off, and then use as a makeshift pastry drizzler (I’m sure there’s a proper name for this tool…).

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