Fresh Summer Chopped Salad with Homemade Seedy Crackers

Sometimes I hate flying.

Here are some of my thoughts from my flight yesterday.

1) Why yes, I was hoping to pay $3.50 for greek yogurt since I can’t bring in my own.

2) I have to go to the bathroom, but I didn’t want to disrupt everyone in my row. Twice. So I will sit here.

3) Dude sitting beside me, don’t worry about covering your cough. I was hoping to get sick anyway.

4) Wow, what a cute 5-year old you have! They would be even cuter if they would stop screaming. It’s just, I only slept about 4 hours last night and I was really hoping to get a bit of a nap. But it’s okay, I prefer to feel like I am in a horror movie.

5) No thank you, I don’t want a $7 snack pack. I already spent my rent on the breakfast I bought in the terminal.

But it’s not all bad. When I finally landed, I was in gorgeous San Diego. The breeze softly blowing my hair; the temperature comfortably 20 degrees lower than in Arizona; the ocean a deep blue in the distance.

Soon I had forgotten about my flight and was floating through a massive Trader Joes (like, the biggest I’ve ever visited) and then Whole Foods collecting the ingredients to make dinner.

Being in San Diego brings me back to this salad. It is overflowing with ripe avocado, grilled corn and chicken, sweet berries, tangy feta cheese, and a sweet, slightly tart vinaigrette.

Oh, and I made some homemade crackers. They were the bomb-diggidy.

Make this. Eat this. Enjoy the last days of summer.

Fresh Summer Chopped Salad

This salad pays homage to the last days of summer. It is full of everything wonderful and delicious. Oh yeah, and it’s gorgeous (just look at all those colors).

Ingredients

For the salad

• 2 1/1 cups romaine, chopped
• 2 ears fresh corn, shucked
• 2/3 cup blueberries
• 2/3 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 1 grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
• 1/3 cup cilantro, stems removed and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the dressing

• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Method

1. Lightly coat corn cobs with olive oil. Grill corn cobs over an open flame (I used the burner on the stove) or on a grill. Once the kernels appear lightly charred, remove from heat. Place the corn cob flat on a cutting board. With downward motion toward cutting board, cut of the entire length of one side. Continue this, rotating the cob around. Once most of the corn has been removed, take the back of your knife and run it down the length of the corn to remove the remaining bits of corn. **Alternatively, the corn can be served fresh cut off the cob**

2. In a large bowl, mix together lettuce, corn, chicken, avocado, blueberries, strawberries, and feta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss thoroughly.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together lime juice, honey, olive oil and vinegar. Pour over salad, then toss once more. Serve with Homemade Seedy Crackers (or other chip/cracker), recipe below.

Recipe lightly adapted from How Sweet Eats

Homemade Seedy Crackers

These Crackers come from the Daring Bakers July Challenge. They are wonderfully crunchy, overflowing with seeds and flavor. Before baking, I sprinkled them with a bit of dried minced garlic and pressed it down with the rolling pin. Next time I will experiment with more topping flavors: caraway, minced onion, rosemary. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) whole wheat four
• 1 cup (240 ml) 140 gm/5 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) (50 gm) (1¾ oz)poppy seeds
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) (40 gm) (1¼ oz) sesame seeds
• 1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (9 gm) table salt
• 1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (8 gm) baking powder
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (195 ml) (6½ fl oz) water

Method

1. Mix the flours, seeds, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the oil and stir until combined. Add the water until the dough comes together.

2. Kneed the dough 5 or 6 times and allow to rest, covered, on the counter for 15 minutes. You can also chill the dough at this point and come back later.

3. Preheat the oven to hot 450°F/230°C/gas mark 8.4. Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, either use a rolling pin to reach a desired thickness (thick or thin) or roll out in your pasta rollers. If you use pasta rollers, ensure the dough is well-floured so as not to stick. Place strips of dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment.

5. If the crackers are thick, bake for 7 minutes, flip them over and bake for 7 minutes more. Then cut or break into crackers shapes while still warm. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until crispy (although for some of my crackers needed less than 5 minutes). If not crispy enough when cooled, crackers can be returned to the oven. Store in an airtight container and eat within 2 weeks.

Recipe from Dana McFarlane on Daring Bakers

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