Chrissie Salad

I call this lovely lunch a Chrissie Salad.  My dear friend Chrissie made this for me several years ago, and I crave it at the first sight of strawberries in spring!  It's so good and so simple. 

My neighbor grew these greens. 

There are chunks of sharp cheddar cheese (but colby jack works well too).

Fresh strawberries, and cucumber.  I didn't have any meat (deli ham, turkey, or chicken) on hand, but that's always a nice addition too.  This delicious salad gets topped by a good honey mustard dressing, and then it's promptly devoured.

Do y'all ever get a little confused on what to put together for a great salad?  Usually, I work backwards by deciding what dressing I want first.  But I get really caught up when it's time to choose the cheese with the dressing.  Or when to add apples vs. cranberries vs. raisins.  Then what nuts go with what fruit?  argh!  That's why I love to keep it simple with this one salad I always know I'll love. 

Wedding Shower for Bethany

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting my friend Bethany's wedding shower at my house on behalf of our homegroup. Bethany and her husband-to-be, Stephen, are both in our home group, and we've really enjoyed getting to know them this year!

I wanted to share a few photos of the shower along with some recipes because our friend Kate did an awesome job planning the menu. The shower was on a Sunday afternoon around 3:30 pm so the menu was great for mid-afternoon snacks, but it also served well those of us who didn't have lunch.

Stephen & Bethany (old photo--Stephen didn't come to the shower =))

The spread of food

So the menu consisted of chicken wraps, a fruit tart, a goat cheese roll (to die for) with crackers, homemade,monogrammed cupcakes, delicious lemon cookies, corn avocado salsa with tortilla chips, grapes and carrots with dip, and a mint tea punch to drink. Like I said, Kate did an awesome job planning the menu with light, sweet, and savory fare... definitely consider checking out the recipes I linked. They were my favorite! The chicken wraps were pretty amazing too, but I didn't get the recipe for those.

Shower games-- TP wedding dress. The winner is pictured above (Julie, Bethany's sister) along with her designers Mrs. Coda (Mother of the Bride) and Kendra one of Bethany's bridesmaids [Interesting fact about Kendra, she met the Pioneer Woman while in Charlotte and recommended this pastry shoppe to her and now PW follows her on twitter!!!]

Gift time!!

i heart mark bittman.

mark bittman is a columnist for the new york times and is also a well known writer in the food world. i first heard of him when brentley's sister, allison, gave me his cookbook: How to Cook Everything. i was overwhelmed at first, by the size and complexity of the cookbook, but now I use it weekly. i use it as a reference (when i hear of a food or see an ingredient that i have never heard of before), but also for it's many recipes and tips on how to prepare different foods. i'm still pretty intimidated by cooking, but some how this book never fails me. it always offers suggestions for substitutions and alternatives, and it gives a good background about the ingredient.

recently B and i were browsing a local bookstore and i saw his newest book, Food Matters. i bought it without hesitation because i've been on a "kick," if you will, of trying to eat and cook more conscientiously. this article is a good summary of the book. not only is it an excellent non fiction read, but it has great recipes too!

next on my reading list: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.