Whenever I'm on the road for more than a couple of days, it always feels extra great to be back home sleeping in my own bed and cooking my own food. As much as I enjoy eating out, I truly love to cook and always miss my kitchen!
This time was no exception, so last night for dinner I prepared a yummy shrimp stir fry (quick and healthy) and today I decided to have a salad for lunch. Too many meals out usually equals too many unnecessary calories, so I was craving something light and healthy.
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| If that isn't beautiful I don't know what is! |
Enter my fine friends over at O Olive Oil.. as you probably know I'm a HUGE fan of their artisan vinegars and citrus olive oils. Well, recently they kindly offered to send me a sampling to try and the only problem I'm having is that I love every single one and can't decide which one to use next. Good problem to have, I know.
Honestly, some of their vinegars are so good I could literally drink them straight from the bottle. In fact, there are at least a couple that they recommend you could use in cocktails. I'll certainly be giving those a try.
Meanwhile, back to the simple salad with the sensational dressing.. no measuring needed, just choose your ingredients, drizzle and toss.
Simple Salad a with Sensational Oil and Vinegar Dressing
Ingredients:
mixed greens
dried cranberries
Marcona almonds (or regular almonds)
apple chips, lightly crushed (or fresh apple or pear, thinly sliced)
O Honey Apple Vinegar
O Clementine Olive Oil
Place the mixed greens, cranberries, almonds and apple chips in a bowl. Drizzle O Honey Apple Vinegar and O Clementine Olive Oil atop, toss, and serve. You could add goat cheese and/or chicken for a more substantial one dish meal.
If you only wanted to try one of these - either the vinegar or the oil - I'd go with the vinegar in this case. You could certainly get by using regular olive oil, but the Clementine does add a layer of citrus infusion.
The O Honey Apple Vinegar is just like you might imagine - a smooth and silky apple cider-type vinegar with a hint of sweetness from the honey. The O Clementine Olive Oil has just a hint of mandarin orange infused in the delicious olivey oil. You can find a smattering of O Olive Oil products at various markets, like Whole Foods, Bristol Farms and Gelson's. You can also order online direct from O Olive Oil or from any of the multitude of online stores offering deals.
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| These are the apple chips I used and they were amazing! I got them from Whole Foods Market and they're made by Good Health Natural Foods |
Oh my goodness that looks delicious. And great photos too! Certainly an awesome alternative to the usual boring salad. I'll have to look into trying this when we go grocery shopping soon.
ReplyDeleteVeronica,
ReplyDeletegreat recipe and photos as always!
Yummy...welcome home! Have you had any of Round Pond's olive oils or vinegars? We visited their vineyard/olive grove in Napa last spring. They're really fab...especially the Meyer Lemon oil! www.roundpond.com
ReplyDeleteThe salad sounds awesome!! There is something about a fresh and light salad that just hits the spot after being on the road. They taste so cleansing and that dressing looks incredible!! Do they sell in VA?!!?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful colors!!! Looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are amazing! Looking forward to trying some of those oils. I usually bring salad to family events, and this recipe would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteI get in such a rut with my salads. I love seeing a new simple recipe with a great new dressing!
ReplyDeleteNice salad! I love and crave salads all year long! I also love vinegars - my current favorite is from Trader Joe's. It's an sweet orange vinegar, and, like you, I could practically drink it! It's that good!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photographs Veronica. Salads always look great anyway but your photography makes this one look even nicer. We're not blessed with lots of vinegar varieties in Turkey, unfortunately. :(
ReplyDeleteI make a salad similar! So good! I've never heard of O vinegar, thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's the simplest ingredients that can make a great salad. The olive oil table at the Foodbuzz Festival was great too. Their lemon olive oil was fabulous. It would be super on a salad.
ReplyDeleteVeronica - absolutely sensational looking salad - what a perfectly wonderful combination of ingredients (gorgeously photographed too, I might add). I am so envious of those gorgeous oils and vinegars you can get. I think I need a trip to the States just so I can come back with a suitcase full of this stuff :-)
ReplyDeleteSue