Summer soup & salad (and wine)

I had a new coworker over for dinner last night. It's been hot (the start of a long summer, I'm told) so I decided to make something cool and refreshing. My new friend said she would eat anything I made but that she doesn't usually eat meat, so I decided to do a cucumber dill soup and roasted beet salad with goat cheese, which we paired with some Torrontes, an Argentinian white wine. The downside to having a guest was that I felt silly snapping photos of the rather beautiful plates, so my only picture is of the leftover soup my husband gobbled up later in the evening.

This only took 5 min of active work (and 30 min letting the cucumbers sweat) so it will be a summer staple for me. The recipe is here.

The salad, Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese with Sherry-Walnut Vinaigrette was a little more work but I made the full 8 servings of dressing and toasted nuts even though we only used 2 so it will be easy to throw together again. I used prepared baby beets but I've roasted beets before and it's not difficult, just a little messy.

 

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Blondeez Daily Diary Thursday

Breakfast and lunch were not that exciting today--greek yogurt with honey plus Fruit and Nut Granola for breakfast, then leftover Beef, Tomato, and Sweet Potato Stew and Quinoa Tabbouleh for lunch after my second CrossFit workout.  I had some more of that homemade applesauce for a snack.  But dinner was the main event!

First, I had marinated Damn Fine Chicken Wednesday night, which I've been excited to try. And wow, it totally lived up to expectations!  I am so excited to eat more for lunch tomorrow.

Next I made Oven Roasted Golden Beets--my first time cooking beets, which the kid's day care says she loves. 

Then I added steamed artichokes (I really can't get enough of them!).  It made a really colorful plate with the chicken and beets, and of course I finally remembered to take pictures of everything so the blog is prettier!