Meatless Thursday Salads, and a hat that says "Meow"

Today was lovely and fascinating and involved lots of time with friends new and old. A few snowflakes fell, a gorgeous neighborhood cat with no collar ended up purring in my kitchen for twenty glorious minutes, my new hat for the Women's March arrived, and Tom indulged me by not complaining about the dinner I served him: two beautiful salads with nary a bit of meat in sight. 

Meow! #dontgrab #resist #pussyhat

Remind me to tell you about the new internist he recently visited who suggested my carnivore husband go vegan. Hilarious!

Anyway, these salads resulted from A) a desire to use what was in the fridge, B) my having just made the kids dinner and not wanting to commit to much more time in the kitchen, C) my mad love of veggies, and D) a realization that it's been an awfully long time since I contemplated and crafted a proper composed salad.

Result 1:

A wintry mix of celery, cucumber, blood orange, pomegranate, candied kumquats, shaved Pecorino, parsley, blackberry Balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Result 2:

A hearty "don't let the rest of that baguette go to waste" salad of roasted golden beets, raw shallots (shaved), goat cheese, parsley, the baguette cubed and lightly fried, pimentón, and a very generous drizzle of olive oil.

Neither was difficult, both used a variety of aging ingredients and also pantry staples, and never can you underestimate the beneficence of a beautiful meal. 

Favorite farro salad

Y'all have got to try this salad. It is one of my favorite creations! Farro with gold beets, spiced pecans, feta and chive-sage oil dressing. Unreal! It sings of freshness and fall. The farro is both chewy and tender, the chives are the main vocals while the sage sings back-up. The gold beets both glow and add a sweet, earthy nuttiness. The interplay of cayenne and maple syrup atop the pecans is sublime. And the feta lends a creamy tang that makes the whole even better.

Lovely Mother's Day dinner

Y'all, this chicken was unreal. Do you remember my goings-on about the caper-oregano chicken my sister cooked for dinner one of our last nights in Florence? I made it tonight, and it was as good as I recalled. AAH! I will post this simple, beyond fabulous recipe for you tonight. I bought the chicken at the FM this morning, used oregano from our yard and some good-quality salt-packed capers. Beyond that you need only olive oil, garlic and a splash of white wine. For our side dishes I a) roasted a bunch of the asparagus I bought this morning at the FM and served it drizzled with a tarragon-lemon aioli and b) made a roasted golden beet and heirloom tomato salad with Bûcheron and a ramp-red wine vinegar dressing. Mmm! Really good. I am about to have a big date with the couch and today's paper and couldn't be more thrilled. I also got a haircut today, went nuts and got a long'ish bob. I'm terribly excited because it is NOT the same cut I've had since I was 9; big-time growth over here, friends. Heh.

Tomorrow I'm going to make something yummy with the fresh lavender I bought today. Jam? Shortbread? In the meantime, Stephen Colbert's interview with Maurice Sendak really was marvelous; if you didn't see it, go back and watch!

Oh, and here's the pie from today...