Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwich

It's been an eventful few weeks, settling into beautiful Bellingham.

Riding along the waterfront on the South Bay Trail

Flights and foodies at Bellingham's newest favorite brewery, Aslan.

Stop, drop, and asana. Dhanurasana on a wheel.

I've also had a lot of quality time in the kitchen. Getting strategic with my budget means meal planning. I have some wonderful friends who have been at this whole meal planning thing for some time, that like to impart their knowledge. My mother likes to impart her knowledge of how to stretch a budget. So between the two, I'm making leaps and bounds both with my creativity in the kitchen and in managing my check book.

This recipe was born after having leftover roasted chicken. I had cooked up some polenta, with sauteed mushrooms, I topped with a fried egg and wedge of cream brie.

The next day, I channeled my mom (I can picture her in the kitchen tearing into the remains of a roasted chicken now!) and got down and dirty, tearing all of the meat away, to make this delicious Tarragon Chicken Salad.

Much like, a traditional chicken salad, but with a twist, and cleaned up a little bit. I used a creamy full fat Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise. Fennel takes the place of celery for a crunch, and tarragon for a uniquely fresh taste. I served the sandwiches on toasted Breadfarm bread, with gouda cheese and thinly sliced green apple.

I stuffed this chicken salad into romaine lettuce leaves the next day for lunch. Three meals knocked out of the park this week! BOOM!

I hope you enjoy this alternative salad as much as I did! I love a good new school take on an old school classic. Happy summer days, friends. Soak up this sunshine!

Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches serves 4

fennel, green apple, gouda

•  2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1/3 cup fennel bulb, finely diced
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh tarragon
• 2/3 cup full-fat Greek yogurt (I use Greek Gods brand, as it has a rich creamy taste, not sour) 
• zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (1-2 Tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 slices good whole grain bread
• 1 green apple, thinly sliced
• 4 oz gouda cheese, thinly sliced
• butter or olive oil for toasting bread

 Method

Heat a pan over medium-high heat.

Combine chicken, fennel, red onion, tarragon, Greek yogurt, and mustard in a large bowl. Gently stir to combine fully. Add salt and pepper to taste. Careful not to over-salt, as the taste will improve after the salad has time to rest in the fridge. The cheese also adds saltiness.

Melt a small pat of butter, or drizzle of olive oil into the pan and wirl to fully coat. Place bread in the pan, work in batches, and toast on one side for 1-2 minutes until browned. Flip, and add sliced gouda to one side. While the other side toasts, let gouda melt. 

Remove bread from pan, spoon chicken salad onto the slice of toast without cheese.

 Arrange sliced of green apple over cheese, sandwich both sides together and enjoy!

Shepard's Wheatberry Salad+Balance

There is nothing that I love more than a great rest day. Total relaxation, leisure, and zero urgency.

I don't often have days like this. Usually, I'll find myself with a prioritized list of things I need to get done, projects to catch up on, e-mails to check, etc. But lately, I've been trying this new thing where I give up the guilt of not doing what I think I should be doing- a thought that has no place in reality, by the way- and giving myself permission to take it easy.

There's a time for urgency, and finishing projects with laser-like focus. And there's also a time to rest, reboot, and relax. That's a tough balance to find.

 I teach interval training classes, and in those classes, I see a similar phenomenon play out. People come into the class with the intention of training hard. The come out of the gates sprinting. When periods of recovery are given, they don't take them. Instead they stay in the training zone. However the workout is designed for you to take advantage of the active recovery. What's predictable, if they stay in the zone of heavy work, is a burnout. A burnout on the court of your life could look like a royal meltdown, snapping at someone with words you don't mean, or making rash decisions based in fear and anxiety. Yuck.

It's all avoidable.

I coach my classes to maximize their rest so that they can maximize their next burst of exertion- which in turn maximizes their results.  When we find the balance in our work, we are able to work smarter, not harder. Our periods of rest and solitude help us get the most out of our busy seasons. Find this balance in every single day, and you won't be the hot mess on the other side of a meltdown. You'll be choosing life, as it comes, creating your work and the results you want, without feeling spread thin.

Shepard's Wheatberry Salad serves 4 Adapted from A Family Feast

sheep feta, currants, orange citronette

• 1 cup wheatberries, rinsed
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced, green part only
• 1/3 cup crumbled sheep feta
• 1/4 cup dried currants 
• 1/4 cup raw walnuts
• 2-3 cups mixed greens

 Method

Combine wheatberries with 3 cups salted water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, rinse, and set aside to cool.

For citronette: Whisk orange zest, and juice in a large bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Once emulsified, season with sea salt and pepper.

Add cooked wheatberries to the large bowl, toss in citronette. Crumble in sheep feta, currants, and walnuts, tossing to fully combine.

If serving immediately, toss with mixed greens as well. If eating throughout the week, use half the citronette, keep greens separate until serving, then use the remaining citronette to freshen up the salad throughout the week.

This calls for white wine and relaxing on the patio in the sun. Give yourself permission to unwind and rejuvenate.

enjoy!