CHERRY CHICKEN SALAD

CHERRY CHICKEN SALAD
(feeds 4)

Ingredients for chicken part:
3 boneless chicken breasts
2 tsp Cajun or chili pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp pineapple or 2 tbsp lemon juice

or

1 store bought rotisserie chicken, cold and shredded

Ingredients for dressing part:
1 1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Mix together canola oil, pineapple or lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and Cajun or chili pepper in a bowl. Add chicken and cover them with the marinade. Let sit covered for at least 1/2 an hour.
Heat a skillet over low-medium heat and roast chicken until browned and done.
Let chicken cool down completely.

Mix together all the ingredients for dressing and add the cold chicken, mix well, so all the chicken is covered with mayo mix.

We enjoyed our cherry chicken salad wrapped in a tortilla with some shredded Roman lettuce.

BUSY WEEK and COLORFUL RICE

Yesterday has been a week since I was on the net! This was one hecktic looooooooooong week! Yesterday, I first checked FoodBuzz and buzzed off all the yummy creations I missed through the week and boy, was there some pretty tasty, wonderful food to admire! Just to mention few that really intrigued my taste buds: Warm and Cheesy Gnochi Salad @Welcome to Sandra's Easy Cooking , Chocolate Panna Cotta @The Cultural Dish , Ceviche @Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves , Skirt Steak with Stout Pan Sauce @The Cultural Dish , and my personal winner KEY LIME PIE @Cherry Tea Cakes ! Love it!!!

Now about the recipe. We cook rise pretty often (I always choose rice over potatoes), although potato is the most loved starch as far as my family is concerned! They could eat "any way" potato three times a day! Rice as rice, all white on the plate is not that inviting, so I always try to add some color to it: sometimes just by adding a dash of turmeric that will turned it light yellow, or some browned vermicelli pasta to give it some movement, but mostly I add colorful veggies that really bring the rice to life. And as far as the flavor busting, well: "Spices to the rescue!"

Colorful Rice

MY NOSTALGIC BAKLAVA

I was first introduced to baklava when I was very little. In my hometown, Ilirska Bistrica, Slovenia, we had just one pastry shop back then. This shop was owned by a Macedonian man. He came to my hometown after the second world war ended and my home town became his hometown, too. He was a very respected hardworking man. In his shop you could buy the best ice-cream ever! My favorite flavor was lemon. And in the winter he would make the winter ice-cream (marshmallow cream) topped with thin coating of chocolate swirled into an ice-cream cone. Unforgettable! There was a wide variety of pastries in his shop and among them baklava. Though the best piece of baklava I ever ate was in Istanbul, Turkey! As for the sweets made with both kinds of fillo dough, in my book, Syria wins the first place! And here it is, my nostalgic baklava!

My Nostalgic Baklava

BIRTHDAY, MEMORIES, and POTICA

My sister and I are two years and one day  apart. We always celebrated our birthdays together...then life happened!

Happy birthday sis! Miss you much, especially on days like today is! Hope you have a lot of fun today!

My sister Mojca (left) and I (right) celebrating our birthdays in 1970

What is "potica"?
"Potica" is a Slovenian national sweet dish that is served at weddings, Easter, Christmas, as well as other occasions, celebrations, and holidays.
A sweet yeast dough is rolled flat, about 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) thick and a nutty filling is smeared onto it. The filled dough is rolled up, forming a log or loaf shape, then baked. When sliced, the cross-section shows a swirl of filling.

This sophisticated tasting deliciousness was always served on my sister's birthday and mine. In those days my grandmother, my sister and I called her "naša nona" (our granny), was always baking it for all the special occasions.

When my grandmother was baking, she always made arrangements, so she was alone at home. She said that especially yeast dough is very sensitive to noise, draft, and crowded kitchens. Now, I know it was just her way to make sure she had some alone time once in a while and to be sure not to get distracted.

Since our granny passed away my mom took over this honorable duty. In November was my mom's birthday and of course she made "potica". She was very excited when I asked her to record her work, so I can post it on my blog. She also made "potica" last Friday for my sister's upcoming birthday. Thanks mom! XOXOXOXOXO

Nonina Orehova Potica- Granny's Walnut Cake

NUTTY CAKE

Who doesn't love nuts, any nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds? They are delicious just as they are, they are inviting if roasted and salted or even spiced. And when you put them into a cake they are just oh so good!


Fruity cakes are light and feel good and refreshing on long, hot summer days, but now that the cold days are more and more frequent it feels just right to make a more heavy kind of cake, like one filled with nuts.

Nutty Cake

COOKIES AND MILK- Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are still our No.1, but variety of ingredients brings joy to your taste pallet. And who knows, maybe even a new favorite cookie in someones recipe book.

Cookies And Milk- Walnut Oatmeal Cookies