Today is my 35th birthday. I have not done a ton of reflecting on this as per usual, the month of May is a busy one and the glorious occasion of my birth gets swept up in all the Mother's Day/Graduation/Stationery Show/Product Development mayhem. It's ok, that's how I like it for the most part.

Today I woke up a little early, had a few moments to myself and thought about what I would most like to have for breakfast. This Dark Chocolate Lemon Banana Bread immediately came to mind (sorry greens smoothie and healthy fruit!) and so I set to it. It is actually a tiny bit of a healthier version of banana bread with the whole wheat flour, heart-healthy olive oil and yogurt. It also has considerably less refined sugar than most recipes and if you are really looking reasons, good dark chocolate has great anti-oxidants...so technically, you are preventing disease by eating this. Hey. It's my party.

I found the first version of this recipe here, where I love almost anything Heidi makes. Heidi could tell me to follow a goose off a cliff and I would consider it. The goose would probably be delicious. My only tweaks were that I used the zest of a whole lemon (I think more lemon really balances out the chocolate and makes this really different, in a delicious way) and I once added walnuts. Which was good, if you like walnuts. I also skip the glaze. I didn't think it was necessary, but if you are an icing person, I think a lemony cream-cheese icing would be a good match over the glaze.

Birthday Dark Chocolate Lemony Banana Bread (BDCLBB for short):

You will need:

1.Cup all-purpose flour

1.Cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 Cup dark brown sugar (Make sure it's dark brown and not just brown, you can also use Dark Muscovado)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 Cup chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate (I think it is best when sort of shave-chopped...just be careful not to shave-chop your fingers)

1/3 Cup olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 large (or 2.5 smaller) mashed, ripe bananas

1/4 C whole milk yogurt (0% greek yogurt works best)

zest of a whole lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Preheat the oven to 350˚. Put rack in the center

Grease and flour a 9 x 5" loaf pan (or equivalent)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the chocolate and combine.

In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, yogurt, zest, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until very golden brown (dark, but not burned...keep an eye on it) for about 50 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes then turn the loaf out to cool completely.

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Enjoy!

Let me know what you think!

xoxo

We had a cold and rainy start to the week here in New England, which reminded us for a moment that it is not, in fact, summer yet (though the recent weather patterns had us lulled into thinking so...). Besides crawling back in bed with a stack of magazines and a hot cup of coffee, my other instinct is to make soup.

While I will eat soup of all kinds at all points in the year, many of us crave lighter things as the days get longer so this soup, my version of chicken tortilla soup, is both light, and alarmingly easy to make. It is perfect on it's own or served with tortilla chips, (I like a tiny dollop of sour cream and some Cholula's hot sauce) and is wonderful re-heated.

Chili Lime Chicken Soup:

You will need:

2 tbs. olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped (I stick mine in the food processor and really let it have it... it ends up more part of the broth than chunks)

Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken (yes, all of it), or roughly 4 chicken breasts cooked and chopped small

3 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce

7 cups chicken broth

Juice of 2 fresh limes

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper

Avocado (1/4 or 1/2 per person)

Serves 6

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1.) In a large saucepan, on medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil until it begins to brown. (5-7mins)

2.) Add the cooked chicken and stir in until well incorporated.

3.) Stir in the chopped chilies and adobo sauce and let cook, stirring occasionally for 3-5 mins.

4.) Add the chicken broth, lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 mins.

5.) Stir in the lime juice and cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.) When serving, slice a portion of avocado into cubes and put in bowl, ladle soup over it, top with tortilla chips or sour cream or whatever makes your heart sing.

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Yum! I hope you enjoy this!

A reminder:

I will be in Wayne, PA at the Blue Horse Boutique on Saturday May 5th for a signing and a little fun! If you are in the Philadelphia area, I would LOVE to see you! Stop by and say hello and enter to win a canvas (yes! they are giving one away!!) For more info check out their website.

Let me know if you are planning on coming!

xoxo

Hello!! I am back from a little vacation having achieved a dose of much-needed R&R (and a tiny amount of sunshine!) on the beautiful island of Oahu. I am getting caught up here at CGD and Marmalade (back up is the price one must pay for said R&R...) and feeling a little bit more like I know what day it is again.

While I was in Hawaii, I was treated to some of the most lush and incredible landscapes I have ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. I was also able to enjoy some of the magnificent fruits and nuts and fresh delicious fish that are so readily available there. Eating wholly and locally is a growing passion of mine and the more I learn about food, the more interested I become in the people and places who grow it.

For a few years I had been reading about what Outstanding in the Field was doing, and how they were growing and I was dying to get to one of their events. So last year, for a friend's 40th birthday, we treated ourselves (and her) to what would end up being one of the top 5 favorite things I have ever done.

You would think hosting an intimate dinner for 200 strangers in an orchard or on a beach or in a pasture would be something of a fiasco, but with almost 10 years of experience putting these dinners together, the team of food gypsies at OIAF is a well-oiled merry-making machine. The recipe is simple: 1 local farm + 1 local chef (or restaurant) + 200ish local food lovers + a sky full of stars = an evening to remember!

Using only local (most as local as a few feet from your chair!) ingredients and providers and the vision of a local chef, the dinners have garnered something of a cult following. In fact, the night we were there (at a peach orchard in New Hampshire) we met people from all over the country who had made an OIAF dinner part of their yearly travel. In fact, while we met lots of first -timers like ourselves, I was amazed at the number of people who had more than one or two of these under their belt!! OH! And about that belt... mine had to be loosened!! The food was nothing short of divinity. From the local oysters to the peach pork tenderloin...even the wine was made by one of the families in attendance!

When we first arrived on a late August evening, we were loaded onto a little tractor-tram and wheeled through the grounds of the peach farm. It had been raining off and on most of the week, and there was some speculation that we would be under a tent instead of the night sky so we wore our wellies and each brought a plate from home as instructed. Once we arrived at the site, there were sparkling peach beverages, fresh oysters and the afternoon sun graced us with her presence. We chatted with other guests and heard a little OIAF history from founder Jim Denevan. The staff was super friendly (and relieved that they had made a game-time decision to not put up the tent!) and seemed just as enchanted as the rest of us with this glorious evening.

After awhile we were piled back onto the tram and ferried into the peach orchard where we came upon the most incredible thing I have seen (in all my days of catering and doing events)...what seemed to be a single long table snaked down a row in the orchard stretching farther than they eye could see set to the decks with service for a 5 course meal! I am pretty sure I made an audible squeal. We ate family style well into the night and left full, newly minted lifers. I (heart) OIAF 4-ever!!

Locations and dates were announced on March 1 on their website. Tickets go on sale on the 20th. TICKETS SELL OUT FAST so you will want to be poised at noon on the 20th if you want to get them. I may have to call in sick that day....

It is a bit of a splurge, but I promise you will not have a more magical dinner with 200 people you have never met before. You will also leave with a renewed awareness of the bounty around you and what the earth has to give in your area. You will also get to enjoy the creativity and genius of a chef in your area that has a passion for that bounty. It is all in all good soul-loving stuff that I couldn't get much more enthusiastic about.

Follow them on Twitter for updates and let me know if you end up going (or have been) ! Coach and I are gonna put our finger on the map this year and try somewhere new!

xoxo

Happy Happy Happy Happy Valentine's Day!!! I am getting ready to put on my red heels and get into the shop to help the hoards of men-folk find the perfect prezzy for their sweethearts (yeep! so fun!), but before I go, I wanted to leave you with a little treat. This is a recipe for my favorite Christmas cookie that I made Valentine'sy by swapping out the sprinkles. I love this cookie and it is so simple to do I thought I would share!

My Minty Valentine Cookies:

You Will Need:

1 package of Almond Bark (Chocolate was used for this recipe...I found it at Target)

1 small bottle of Peppermint Essential Oil (NOT PEPPERMINT EXTRACT!! This is VERY important)

1 box of Ritz Crackers (use only the perfect ones...well, initially)

Seasonally appropriate sprinkles

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1.) Follow the directions on the back of the package of Almond Bark for melting. I have gone the double-boiler route, but honestly, the microwave works better.

Aside: I know that Almond Bark is not the most, um, healthy way to coat something in chocolate. I would much prefer to use real chocolate or at least something with cocoa as the first ingredient, BUT I have tried other things and nothing quite works/tastes the same. Also, it is my Mom's Cookie Exchange recipe and you don't MESS with those ladies.

2.) Once chocolate is fully melted, stir in EXACTLY 7 drops (be very careful here) of the Peppermint essential oil. Stir until well mixed.

3.) One at a time, coat crackers in chocolate. I use a fork here and flip the cracker around until it is coated, then lift it out with a fork and wag it side to side (careful to keep the chocolate in the bowl) to get the excess off and keep the coating even. The ratio of chocolate to cracker is important I think...they want to be sort of thinly coated.

4.) Lay cracker gently onto parchment and sprinkle with sprinkles. Cookies will set up on their own but a quick turn in the fridge will speed the process.

5.) When chocolate has hardend, pick up cookies and clean off the chocolate debris from the sides. Give to your sweethearts or enjoy!

**A note on giving: 3 of these little guys fit perfectly in a standard size cupcake paper. I thought it would be a cute way to bring them to the office or a party!

There you go! I hope you love them (I think they taste like Thin Mints!). Let me know what you think if you make them!

xoxo

In a stroke of pure-weather luck (some in New England might say we have earned this) we have had an incredibly beautiful, slightly late, totally mild fall. The leaves peaked late thanks to all the rain we had earlier in the season and it has been unseasonably, and totally pleasantly warm. I don't want to jinx it by celebrating, but I just love it!

To honor this glorious season I made some creamy roasted red pepper and tomato soup and thought I would share. The recipe was adapted from one found in House & Home Magazine. I made it dairy-free pretty easily (Coach can't do dairy. Sad. I know.) and deliciously by trading out the heavy cream for coconut milk. Actually, I would recommend serving it like this because it was so lovely.

Don't be intimidated by the pepper-roasting process! It is so fun and kind of like magic. If you have a gas-top range DO IT!! If not, you can broil them on a baking sheet or you can buy the red peppers already roasted, but will be far less entertained.

To roast the peppers:

You will need a good pair of tongs for this. Place your pepper directly on the gas flame (whole). Keep turning them with the tongs until they are blackened (really black) all over. Put blackened peppers in a bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap. Cool.

When cooled, pull out stem and seeds and peel off charred skins. Voila! Fancy-pants roasted red peppers. You're welcome.

Mid-Autumn Roasted Reds & Tomato Soup

You will need:

2 Sweet red peppers

2 (28oz. cans) of chopped tomatoes (splurge a little here and use the good ones. It makes a difference)

1/4 chicken stock (you can also use vegetable)

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 C. coconut milk (From a can, not the sweetened for-your-cereal-kind) you could also use heavy cream here.

3 tbsp. butter, cubed

fresh chopped basil, for garnish

salt & pepper to taste

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1.) In a food processor (please tell me you have one by now! life. changing.), purée tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Pour into a saucepan and add stock, sugar and your salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 mins until slightly thickened.

2.) Stir in coconut milk (or cream). Remove from heat and gradually whisk in butter, one piece at a time. Garnish with basil. Serve with big crusty bread!

Mmmmmmmmmmm! Hope you love it!

xoxoxo

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A few house-keeping notes:

1.) Don't forget to enter to win Lacy and Lisa's "Thriving Through the Holidays" Group Health Coaching Course!! You have til 5pm EST!! It's gonna be awesome!!

2.) I will be posting the limited-availability holiday product for you to order later this week. It will be by email and first-come first-served, so get your lists ready!

3.) If you are in the St. Louis area and want to hang out, I will be doing a signing at Dazzle Boutique in Towne & Country on December 17th!! Mark your calendars, I would love to see your face! Contact them for more details.

It is about to be October, a glorious month full of some fall days, some summer days, some baseball (unless you are a Red Sox fan..booo...I get to play both leagues though, being a native St.Louisan...Go Cards!) some football, some sweaters, some t-shirts. It is the best of both worlds! To me, it's also picnic season!

Some of you may know that I have a stadium blanket problem collection (I will share that with you another day), and what better way to use a few (er, several) vintage plaid blankets than to have a picnic!? If you are lucky enough to live in or visit Boston in the month of October then you have no excuse but to have an elaborate picnic on the banks of the Charles River while the university crews row by. It is my personal version of heaven. 

Nostalgia and travel-bullying aside, this Green Goddess Potato Salad is my new picnic favorite. I made it a bunch this summer and it was the thing people asked for the recipe for the most. I found it in the Blackberry Farm Cookbook, which has become one of my go-tos. My other personal version of heaven would be to take up permanent residence at Blackberry Farm. Me and my stadium blankets would fit right in there.

I did not alter the recipe much, except that I tried it with both fingerling potatoes and red bliss. I found the flavor to be much better with the red bliss, but the presentation much more impressive with the fingerlings. It will have to come down to priorities.

I also left out the radishes after the first time. I found them decorative, and the salad is just plain beautiful by itself.

Green Goddess Potato Salad

You will need:

6 Cups fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

1 Tbs. Kosher Salt

3/4 C. Fresh Spinach Leaves

1/4 C. Fresh Tarragon Leaves

1/4 C. Fresh Basil Leaves

1/4 C. Fresh Flat Parsley Leaves

1/4 C. Champagne Vinegar (if you don't have this, use rice vinegar and a splash of sparkling wine...you should always have that on hand!)

5 Scallions (green parts and a little white), Chopped

1 C. Organic Mayonnaise

1.5 Tsp Salt, more to taste

8 Small Radishes (optional), Trimmed and sliced

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1.) After potatoes have been quartered, put them in a pot and add enough water to cover them by 1 inch. Add Kosher Salt and bring to a boil. When it has reached a boil, turn off heat and let sit until tender (about 10 min). Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl (you will want extra room). Refrigerate until cool.

2.) In a food processor (this is a must), Combine spinach, tarragon, basil, parsley and vinegar and puree until smooth. Add in scallions and process until smooth. Scrape mixture into a medium bowl and whisk in mayo and salt. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

3.) Toss the cooled potatoes with the cooled dressing and garnish with fresh radishes. Take to picnic and enjoy!

There you go! Hope you love it!

xoxo

I may have said this before, but I LOVE SUMMER. Love it. Every triple-digit, tank-top-tan, hot-leather-seats moment of it. Say it with me: I LOOOOOOOVE SUMMER!!!! I think that over ten years of New England winters made my love for it way stronger than it ever was before, growing up in the hot and humid mid-west. Don't get me wrong, I love other seasons too...in fact, you will probably hear me profess my undying love for them at some point too, but right now, summer is center stage and I am appreciating every extra sunny hour of it.

As you might have guessed, food plays a large part in my love for summer (let's face it, it plays a large part in my love for most things...). The availability of fresh delicious produce is high on my quality-of-life-meter and summer produces a bounty of goodness...some of it right in our own backyards! Now, this will be old-hat for those of you in California or some equally lovely place where you grow your own everything and dine outside year round, but humor me for a moment as I revel.

A few weekends ago I spent some time in Syracuse at my Aunt's house. My cousin was tending to a family friend's house/cat/gardens while she was on vacation and I went with her one of the afternoons. Right smack dab in her backyard was a cluster of raspberry bushes and to my delight, we were allowed to pick them! We brought home two good-sized bags full of bright red, ripe (some over-ripe and squishy), deliciously sweet raspberries...what's a girl to do!? Obviously one must bake.

I threw together this gloriously simple tart that really just maximizes the flavor of the berries and showcases their brilliant color. I used a store bought crust, because in my opinion it is just not worth the time to make your own. It's summer. It's hot. Don't go rolling out stuff if you don't have to. Most often a store bought crust does just as well, unless there are special additions to the crust like vanilla, or graham or lemon. The magic-jam that I used as the filling is something that Nigella Lawson taught me in her book "How to be a Domestic Goddess". I love her. The rest is just nature's bounty - a little vanilla ice cream never hurts either.

Quick Backyard Raspberry Tart

You will Need:

3 cups fresh raspberries

Zest of one lemon

1 store-bought piecrust

1 cup sugar

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Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Press the piecrust into a shallow tart pan (a pie pan works fine too, you will just have a thinner crust) and crimp the edges. Pierce with a fork several times and cook for 20 minutes or until just slightly browned. Let cool.

Simultaneously, in two separate oven-safe bowls, or pie pans (I used the disposable kind) put sugar into one and 1 cup of raspberries in the other. Put them in the oven for 25 minutes.

Pull the sugar and raspberries out of the oven and slowly pour the hot sugar onto the hot raspberries. Mix lightly with a fork and watch the magic happen! Let cool slightly, then pour jam into the cooled piecrust. Sprinkle jam layer with lemon zest.

Pile the remaining raspberries on top of the jam saving your most intact and whole ones for the top so it looks nice. Let cool. Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite summer food recipe?

xoxo

Actually, the phrase should go "I'm obsessed, you're obsessed...we're all obsessed with ice cream!" Or something like that.

Coach and I got a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker as a wedding gift and ever since I have been staving off a crazy desire to handcraft small batches of frozen dairy deliciousness! I made a couple of attempts last summer. The first was Honey Lavender because I had just seen "It's Complicated" and wanted to pretend that I had Meryl Streep's Santa Barbara existence (well, ok, her kitchen to be specific). I followed directions to a tee and it turned out pretty good. (The pictures may have turned out better...) The end result was a tiny bit icy, and very lavender-y... which made me realize that the making of delicious ice cream is as much a science as it is a craft. It is a lot about balancing the ingredients and tweaking things as you go along, so you really in the end, need to know about what the ingredients do and why. I made only two batches last summer and vowed to revisit the project.

This spring I stumbled upon Jeni. Not literally, but actually by recommendation of some Twitter followers that put her shop on my to-do list while visiting Columbus, OH. I never made it to her shop, but was able to grab an early copy of her new book and have been reading it like a great novel before bed at night! I am newly energized, recharged and completely up to the challenge of unique, artisan ice cream making!! I hope my kitchen (which is NOT like Meryl Streep's..) is ready for this jelly!

I will keep you abreast (is it wrong that I laugh a little as I type that?) of my progress, as I'm certain you will want to know! But until then, this recipe is worth a shot if you have a home ice cream maker, just make sure the basin is fully frozen and you may want to edit the amount of lavender used, as you don't want to feel like you are eating a sachet.

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

You will need:
½ C.  honey (I used Savannah Bee Company's Tupelo Honey (not pictured) but you could use anything...local is always better!)

¼ C. fresh or dried lavender flowers (I found that the dried ones gave a slightly stronger flavor)
1 ½ C. whole milk
½  tsp. sea salt

¼ C. sugar
1 ½ C. heavy cream
5 large egg yolks

Heat the honey and 2 tablespoons of the lavender in a small saucepan. Once warm, remove from the heat and set aside to steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.
Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. Pour the lavender-infused honey into the cream through the strainer, you can press lightly on the flowers to extract flavor, discard lavender and set the strainer back over the cream.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warm egg yolks back into the saucepan. You want to make sure your cream mixture is JUST WARM, anything too hot can make egg solids at this step.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of lavender flowers and stir. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You can also put this in metal bowl and an ice bath to speed the process.

Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze as directed.

Good Luck!

Anybody have any favorite homemade flavors to share?!

xoxo

I am a stress-baker.

Some people bite their nails, some people eat, some people get really highly productive when they are stressed or have a lot on their plate. I bake.

It's true. Unless it is your birthday, or the night before a major holiday, and I am making you a cake, a batch of cookies or (if you are lucky) pie, you can be sure I am supposed to be doing something else. You see, cooking a meal at the end of every day is a Zen activity for me. I love the chopping and the assembly, the creativity and the feeding of people. It helps me unwind.

Baking is more of an exact science. It requires real measuring and ratios and has a more defined end result. It makes me feel accomplished if I achieve the desired result and usually, it's pretty! Double score! So you can understand why it is my procrastination of choice. Plus, people rarely argue with you if you are making them a sweet treat. They rarely look at you with a good half-pound of butter in your hand and say: "Shouldn't you be doing something else?". They can't judge you for your avoidance behavior with their mouths full of cake. It's kind of genius, if I do say so myself.

So, last night, after a week of packing and moving, a weekend of 12 hour days at 'big' Marmalade, and with Coach home from his big tournament (they made it really far this year and did an excellent job, but didn't go as far as they wanted...) and a mountain of artwork to do, I made cake.

If you have not seen Sweet Paul Magazine or Paul's Blog, you must. It is just beautiful in every way. Beautiful, and it turns out, delicious! I made this Sweet Potato and Spice Cake   quickly before dinner last night, and it was ready to have with tea for dessert. It is the perfect cake to have just as it is, as a little treat or, you know, as breakfast. You can also make it with a can of pumpkin if you have one on hand.

I will spare you the recipe here, because you should flip through the magazine (which is gorgeous) and you can even print out the pages you love!

Hope you have happy Mondays! There are more new shop photos in store this week, a new Sweetheart Sponsor, style boards and who-knows-what-else!!

xoxo

Hello! In honor of it being Friday, I thought I would give you a little feast. Feast is such a fun word isn't it? Feast feast feast feast!

I love vegetables. With the exception of cauliflower, I will eat just about anything you put in front of me that sprouted from your garden (sorry cauliflower lovers...it's a texture thing). In fact, oddly and in stark contrast to my undying love for baked goods, I would prefer to eat a salad for lunch or dinner any day. However, the winter months make this more challenging by not only making the selection of seasonal fresh veg a little slim, but frankly I crave warm foods and well, carbs.

I am confident that there is some very reasonable and scientific reason that we want to nourish ourselves with insulating foods when it is cold outside...but tell that to my skinny jeans. So to compromise, I have been turning to 'warm salads'. (I may have made up the term 'warm salads' just fyi) These are salads that have a solid base of raw greens and vegetables mixed with a cooked element like roasted vegetables or starches or topped with a cooked grain like quinoa or brown rice. The combination of hot and cold, crunchy and soft is quite nice and it satisfies both of my cravings.

My friend L.C. found this recipe and brought it over one evening. We played around with it and doctored it up with her very delicious (and super easy!) parchment paper chicken and a few other alterations and came up with the best winter salad we have had yet!

Warm Winter Salad

Ingredients:

4 med. leeks, (white and tender green parts only) halved lengthwise

1lb. fingerling potatoes (Trader Joe's "Teeny Tiny 'Tatoes" are perfect for this) cut in halves.

1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 breasts)

1/4 C. Olive oil, plus more to coat vegetables

2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tbs or dijon mustard

Mixed greens for 4 (we used butter lettuce mix and maché, but you can use your favorite)

2 ripe avocados

4 oz of pecorino romano cheese

Salt and pepper

Parchment Paper

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375˚. Season your chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and wrap each separately in parchment paper . Bake for 20-25 min. Until chicken is cooked through. Then chop for salad.

Toss leeks and potatoes with a little bit of olive oil (I use a zip lock bag and shake them up) lay them out on a baking tray, cut side down, season with salt and pepper. Cook in the same oven for about 25 minutes, until leeks are lightly brown and tender. Remove leeks, return potatoes for about 10 more minutes until they are also brown and tender.

Cut the roasted leeks cross-wise into 2 inch lengths. Set aside.

In a small bowl wisk together olive oil, mustard and vinegar. Toss your greens with about half of the vinaigrette. Separate greens onto plates.

Halve avocados and slice lengthwise, removing slices with a spoon. Set aside.

Arrange leeks, potatoes, chopped chicken and avocado on top of your plated greens, drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and grate or crumble pecorino/romano cheese on top.

Serve and enjoy!

Do you have any favorite ways to get good veg in the cold winter months? Please share!