Broccoli, red onion & almond salad

Sorry for my recent silence...I've been getting my head around a new job & adjusting to a new schedule, whilst simultaneously getting used to being on my feet most days & coping with the addition of several extra sessions of yoga/pilates/boxing/other forms of exercise (all in the name of work). I love my job...but it's certainly been taking it out of me! Last week, I actually listened to my body (I think this might be a first!) and, after struggling through a CrossFit workout on Monday, declared the remainder of the week 'yoga week'. It paid off! I was able to return to CrossFit this morning feeling much stronger, more energetic, and definitely more enthusiastic. 

Lesson learnt? Maybe!

Despite my absence, I have still been taking note of some of the things I've made over the last few weeks, so I'll hopefully be posting more regularly again now. Except that my phone got stolen on Friday, so I might be missing a few photos :(

Anyway, at some point over the last couple of weeks, I threw this salad together...

Broccoli, red onion & almond salad

Ingredients

Sesame oil
Red onion, chopped
Broccoli, steamed
Almonds, roughly chopped

Heat a small amount of sesame oil in a saucepan; add onion & cook until soft. Add steamed broccoli & almonds. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring often. Served drizzled with a little more sesame oil.

This was great as an accompaniment to a good barbecued steak!

Also worked well with some chopped cold steak for lunch the next day.

A taste of summer

Icecreams by the beach, sipping a glass of chilled white wine on the deck, fresh bread dipped in olive oil…I have to admit to a twinge of jealousy when I see people enjoying these aspects of the alfresco Kiwi summer; a twinge of jealousy that their lifestyle choices allow them to enjoy these tastes of summer more frequently than my choices do.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for sympathy – I know that it’s my choice. And I wouldn’t change my choices – I feel better than I have in years, and that’s definitely worth a few ‘sacrifices’. But just occasionally, I feel a bit like I’m missing out.

So today, I came up with another way of experiencing summer. It may not be alcoholic, or full of refined sugars, but in my book, this salad definitely qualifies as a ‘taste of summer’…

Summer Stonefruit Chicken Salad

Ingredients

4 white peaches

2 white nectarines

1 red onion, chopped

¼ cup fresh mint, chopped finely

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Rocket (or other lettuce-type leaves)

Cucumber (‘ribboned’ using a peeler)

2/3 of an orange kumara

330g chicken breasts, halved horizontally and cut into small pieces

Extra mint (torn up) for garnish

(12 blocks protein, 12 blocks carbs, 36 blocks fat – this did each of us 1 lunch and 1 dinner)

Slice stonefruit and place in a bowl with red onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mint, salt and pepper. Combine and leave to marinate for at least half an hour…preferably longer.

Using a peeler, make ‘ribbons’ out of the kumara. Mix with a bit of olive oil and salt. Spread out on a baking tray and bake at 200 degrees for approximately 5 minutes (or until starting to get crispy).

Remove tray from oven and unstick ribbons from tray by scraping with a spatula (they will stick to each other – this is ok…it looks cool!).

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and fry in a non-stick pan until browned.

On each plate, place some rocket and some cucumber ribbons, then the appropriate quantity of cooked chicken. Spoon over the allocated amount of the fruit mix, top with a handful of kumara ribbons, and garnish with fresh mint.

The salad got rave reviews from Bear…and just quietly, I’m kinda proud of this one too!