Arugula, Cheddar, and Tomato Panzanella Salad

 

 

 

 

 

Adapted from The Vegetarian Times

4 cups bread cubes (from a baguette or similar crusty bread)
7 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 ounces arugula
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, cubed
Sundried tomatoes

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the bread pieces in a large bowl with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Spread in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, remaining olive oil, and lemon juice.
3. In a large bowl, combine the arugula, cheddar cubes, and sundried tomatoes. Pour the dressing over the salad, tossing to coat.

My Weeknight Shortcut: Summer Cornbread Panzanella

It’s confession time. On this blog I’ve shown my love for baking from scratch, a love that’s been a lesson in making the best treats and experiencing joy when they dazzle my friends and family (and me). Nothing beats baking from scratch…right? And here we have the confession: my favorite way to make cornbread is with Jiffy mix.

The thing is, baking has also been a lesson in patience. Mostly it’s been a good lesson—I do not regret, for example, patiently rolling and folding dough and butter to create these amazing Danishes—but there are times, weeknights to be specific, when time is of the essence. No matter how much I love to cook, I do not want to spend hours on a weeknight meal. So, it’s a convenience thing, but (and this is probably the most confessional part) it’s also a taste thing. I haven’t tried many different cornbread recipes, but there’s just something about that Jiffy cornbread that gets me. I repent nothing.

So now that this is out in the open, I can happily discuss this amazing salad I recently made. It’s another summer salad, with corn, bell pepper, and tomatoes, but this time with yellow squash, green beans, basil, and jack cheese.  You slice the cornbread into cubes and toast them, creating a summer-y version of the classic panzanella salad with tomatoes and toasted baguette cubes. I love the use of cornbread cubes—see my aforementioned taste for Jiffy which, by the way, the recipe recommended using—and toasting the cornbread makes it even better.

Then there’s the vegetables, of so many different and enticing kinds. I love the crunch of green beans and bell pepper, and the classic summer mix of tomatoes and corn. The yellow squash was a spontaneous decision at the grocery store, when we couldn’t find the recommended second variety of beans. So I scanned the produce shelves and landed on yellow squash. I had no idea how to cook it, so thank goodness for Google. Turns out you can just slice and bake it, which is much simpler than any other squash (butternut, acorn) I’ve had in the past.  Turns out it goes brilliantly with basil, too.

If you want to use cornbread you made from scratch, I’m the last person to stop you. But I want everyone else to know there’s no shame in cooking shortcuts, even if they come in little blue boxes.

Summer Cornbread Panzanella
Adapted from Family Circle

A little butter
1 package Jiffy mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
A little olive oil
1 pound yellow squash (crookneck squash), sliced
1 ½ cups corn kernels
4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large tomato, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
.66 ounces fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 ½ cups grated Monterey jack cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter the inside of an 8×8-inch baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the Jiffy mix, egg, and milk until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared dish and bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cornbread cool for about 15 minutes, then slice into cubes.
2. Lightly oil a baking sheet and arrange the squash slices in a single layer on it. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes (you can bake the squash at the same time as the cornbread).
3. Arrange the cornbread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast at 400 degrees for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and gently toss the cornbread cubes, then return them to the oven to toast for an additional 4 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, combine the corn, green beans, tomato, bell pepper, basil, cooked squash, and cheese. Gently stir in the toasted cornbread.

Cook to Feel Better: Chicken and Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Basil

Oftentimes, cooking is one way I express my joy in my life. But there are other times when cooking lifts me up out of a sad mood or a tough time, even if just for a little while, by giving me focus and purpose. It was with this latter mentality that I went into making this salad.

I won’t go into all the details—this is not a tell-all blog, and there isn’t much at all to tell. You know it: there’s just days when you don’t feel so great. So I took some time to lie down, talk to Thomas, and look at cute pictures on Instagram. It was my turn to cook dinner, but Thomas offered to order some Thai food instead (side note: he’s the best) and I was tempted to take him up on his offer. But something made me reconsider. “I want to cook,” I said.

I went into the kitchen and started slicing chicken, which I put in a skillet sizzling with olive oil. I cut half a baguette into cube-like pieces (it’s not as if any were perfect squares—let’s be realistic, people), tossed them with olive oil, and put them in the oven to toast. Just the smell of fresh bread and olive oil brought some peace—it reminded me of downtown Seattle restaurants where they serve good bread with olive oil and balsamic for dipping. What a revelation that was, the first time that simple delicacy was placed in front of me.

I mixed together a basic olive oil, garlic, and red wine vinegar dressing. Then I sliced basil, breathing in the familiar, delicious scent. I sliced little grape tomatoes in half, and alongside the basil, they looked like the jewels of summer. This combination goes beautifully with the toasted bread, crunchy and crisp (and now you have a recipe for homemade croutons!). The chicken makes this salad a dinner rather than a side, but it could easily be replaced by (or supplemented with) pieces of fresh mozzarella, to complete the caprese trio.

Once we sat down to dinner, I felt a sense of relief—not that my mood had changed completely, but I’d engaged my mind in something positive and, as a result, was reminded of one of the many good things in my life now. Being myself means being sad when I’m sad, but also enjoying everything that makes it great to be me.

Chicken and Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Basil
Adapted from Canal House Cooks Every Day

8 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds total), cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups bite-size baguette pieces (or other artisan bread)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
0.6 ounces basil leaves, sliced thin
10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
2. While the chicken cooks, toast the bread: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the bread pieces in a large bowl with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Spread in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
3. To make the dressing, combine the garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine.
4. In the same bowl you tossed the bread in, combine the chicken, toasted bread pieces, basil, and cherry tomatoes. Pour the dressing over and toss well to coat.