Ilva’s salads are always sure winners for me.  And here’s another one that recently caught my eye  — Tepid Chickpea and Chicken Salad with Zucchini and Sundried Tomatoes.  I loved this one.  I loved that the ingredients are simple and delicious.  Everything went well together — the chicken, chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, parsley and garlic.  Mixed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, I had a lip-smacking time eating this salad.  Oh! and it’s preparation time is fast, so that I didn’t have to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. Grazie, Ilva!

TEPID CHICKPEA AND CHICKEN SALAD WITH ZUCCHINI AND SUNDRIED TOMATOES or INSALATA TIEPIDA DI CECI E POLLO CON ZUCCHINE E POMODORI SECCHI

Lucullian Delights

This is the phrase that is placed above the entrance of Grant’s tomb, the largest mausoleum in North America.  Ulysses S. Grant, the Union Civil War General and the 18th President of the United States and his wife Julia are entombed here.  Let us have peace. 

Paz

The Lance Armstrong Foundation provides the practical tools and information that people with cancer need to to live strong. 

May 13, 2008 is LIVESTRONG Day, where different events are held worldwide to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer.

Barbara of Winos and Foodies is hosting LIVESTRONG Day event again this year.  It’s a way for food and wine bloggers to show support for those battling cancer.  Last year she organized the event and 149 bloggers participated.  Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  This is what I made last year for the event.  Here is the roundup of 2007 entries.  Check it out when you can, there are a lot of creative and delicious dishes.

Participants are asked to prepare foods in the color yellow.  This year, I put together a corn salad.  I love corn and I love bright food colors.  Needless to say, I like yellow.  For this salad, I mixed corn kernels, red bell peppers, scallions, and cilantro (my favorite! but you can use parsely).  Then I added olive oil, white pepper, Kosher salt and some red pepper flakes (gotta add a little heat!).  Oh, and some fresh lemon juice, I added lemon juice, too.  I love my corn salad — healthy, tasty and colorful yellow.  LIVESTRONG Yellow! 

If you’re interested in participating in this event, it’s not too late.  Please join us.  April 19 is the deadline to submit your entry to Barbara.   Go here for the guidelines.

I have two extra LIVESTRONG wristbands, which I’d be happy to send to anyone who’d like one.  E-mail me if you’re interested.  You can find my addy in the ABOUT section.

Thanks, Barbara, for putting this wonderfully supportive event together.  If you visit Winos and Foodies on May 13, you can see the list of fantastic enteries that Barbara will put together.

Paz

Flowering Callery Pear Tree

Signs of spring are all over the city.  I see a lot of flowering trees.  I must admit that autumn is my favorite season and I like cold weather (minus the snow), but I’m excited that spring is here.  Yay!  It looks and feels wonderful.  Have a great week, everyone.  Happy Monday!

Paz

Callery Pear Tree Flowers

As usual, I like easy recipes.  I found this easy cookie recipe on Nectar & Light.  Mmmm!  Yum!  Chocolate Peanut Butter Love.   I love the name of this cookie, too. 

Without complications, I put together the ingredients, that included peanut butter, sugar, honey, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda and chocolate chips.  They tasted so good, especially coming straight from the oven.  Soft, warm, sweet.  The mixture of the chocolate chips and peanut butter?   Divine!  Loved it indeed. 

Paz

Chocolate Peanut Butter Love

Nectar & Light

~ 1 c. butter {room temp}

~ 1 1/4 c. peanut butter {preferably smooth Jif}

~ 1 c. sugar

~ 1/2 c. honey

~ 2 organic eggs

~ 1/2 t. vanilla

~ 2 1/2 c. flour

~ 1 t. baking powder

~ 1 t. baking soda

~ 1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Smooth butter and peanut butter together - add sugar and mix until well blended.  Add honey and mix.  In a small bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla - add to butter mixture and incorporate well.  In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder together - slowly add to wet mixture.  Scrap the bottom of the bowl several times to ensure all of the dry is properly mixed into the wet.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 30 minutes.  Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using an ice cream scoop {or tablespoon}, create {somewhat} equal sized balls of dough - spacing them about two inches apart on the baking sheet.  Return the dough to the fridge between each sheeting.  Do NOT flatten the dough with a fork or any other means.  Bake each sheet for 12 minutes or until edges just begin to turn gold.  Pull from the oven and let the cookies stand for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

*These freeze beautifully and defrost quickly if you really must have one right away

The above is a portion of a mural that covers the entire length of a building wall on 125th Street.  Happy Monday, all!  Have a great week.

Paz