Orange Barley Salad
Sorry for posting two in a row like this, but I wanted to get this one out before I forgot!
We ended up having a rather late lunch today, followed by that fun hike up to a Geocache and the visit to Snoqualmie Falls, so when we got home we decided we didn't need a really big dinner and we also didn't want to have to go back out to get any ingredients. I glanced around in the fridge and grabbed some leftover cooked barley, a couple of oranges, some chevre and some other bits and pieces and came up with this.
All amounts are approximate... since I really wasn't keeping track.
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
Couple of splashes of champagne vinegar (1/8-1/4 cup)
olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
Whisk (or shake) to make an emulsion and place in bottom of a bowl.
Top with:
mixed greens (I did fresh spring mix - NO ICEBERG)
1 or so cups cooked barley (cook in chicken or vegie stock if possible)
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
1 small orange (cut off peel and pith, chop into small bite-size pieces)
1/2 english cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced.
2-3 ounces of chevre, crumbled
8 ounces chicken thigh meat, grilled and chopped into very small pieces (you want them to blend thoroughly with everything else).
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
Mix together and serve.
Not the best photo, I'm afraid, but I was a bit rushed (it really looked GOOD). I was very happy with how it turned out, though, and I'm mostly posting this so I can keep track of what went into it (so I can hopefully make it again). I also call this one a win because it used up some of the produce we had sitting around (one of my goals for this year, yay!), used up the leftover barley from a dish we made last night, used up some chicken thigh meat (it had been in the freezer since September and was simply what was left after I used up a pound from a package for a recipe). Plus I got to use some basil from the new plant I picked up this last week. Oh, and it was REALLY good. Major win, all the way around!
We ended up having a rather late lunch today, followed by that fun hike up to a Geocache and the visit to Snoqualmie Falls, so when we got home we decided we didn't need a really big dinner and we also didn't want to have to go back out to get any ingredients. I glanced around in the fridge and grabbed some leftover cooked barley, a couple of oranges, some chevre and some other bits and pieces and came up with this.
All amounts are approximate... since I really wasn't keeping track.
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
Couple of splashes of champagne vinegar (1/8-1/4 cup)
olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
Whisk (or shake) to make an emulsion and place in bottom of a bowl.
Top with:
mixed greens (I did fresh spring mix - NO ICEBERG)
1 or so cups cooked barley (cook in chicken or vegie stock if possible)
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
1 small orange (cut off peel and pith, chop into small bite-size pieces)
1/2 english cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced.
2-3 ounces of chevre, crumbled
8 ounces chicken thigh meat, grilled and chopped into very small pieces (you want them to blend thoroughly with everything else).
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
Mix together and serve.
Not the best photo, I'm afraid, but I was a bit rushed (it really looked GOOD). I was very happy with how it turned out, though, and I'm mostly posting this so I can keep track of what went into it (so I can hopefully make it again). I also call this one a win because it used up some of the produce we had sitting around (one of my goals for this year, yay!), used up the leftover barley from a dish we made last night, used up some chicken thigh meat (it had been in the freezer since September and was simply what was left after I used up a pound from a package for a recipe). Plus I got to use some basil from the new plant I picked up this last week. Oh, and it was REALLY good. Major win, all the way around!