Autumn Waldorf Chicken Salad (AKA “Falldorf” Chicken Salad)
Excuse me, but I have a bone to pick with time. It’s moving too fast.
After over eighteen months of this global panini, it suddenly feels like the world is holding down the accelerator to get back to “normal” while still figuring out how to drive. Meanwhile, I’m the dad in the passenger seat slamming on imaginary brakes.
I want to get back to living a normal life just as much as the next person, but a tiny part of me doesn’t feel ready. First of all, if I’m being *real* honest and vulnerable, I’m still getting over the heartbreak of watching live music vanish in front of my eyes last March. On the other hand, despite the sadness, I enjoyed being forced to slow down. I have loved not having to live out of a suitcase, getting to actually have weekends, and suddenly having all the time in the world to plan and cook delicious meals. Also, I’ve finally gotten to pursue my dream of turning this blog into a business. NBFD!!!!!
I’m truly not complaining (I’m grateful to have stuff going on), but when your personal and professional schedules suddenly go from zero to sixty, it can be a little scary. But, since there’s not much I can do to slow this transition (it was going to happen eventually!) all I can do is control how I respond.
Naturally, I am responding with food.
Persimmon Upside-Down Yogurt Cheesecake
“I received free samples of siggi’s yogurt mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by siggi’s yogurt and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”
We’re less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and each year, this season brings up a ton of family memories for me. For whatever reason, the thought of shoveling all manner of carbs into my face whilst making dinner-table-inappropriate jokes with my cousins at the kids table (which I know I’m going to be at for ~10 more years at least, and am totally fine with) just screams NOSTALGIA… Ya know? It’s a natural human instinct. But for me, these memories can come flooding in at LITERALLY any given moment once November hits. Take for example, the other day, while I was buying a bag of persimmons.
When I was a kid and I used to go over to my grandparents’ house, my grandma and I would draw pictures together. One day we were drawing various fruits and veggies, putting faces on them, and giving them names. All the usual suspects were there: Broccoli Rob (GET IT?!), Tommy Tomato, Apple Anne, etc. But then I said to my grandma, “What about PERSIMMON PATRICK?” She looked at me surprised and slightly impressed, like, do you actually even know what a persimmon IS, seven-year-old Sarah? No, Grandma. No I did not.
In fact, I didn’t know what a persimmon was until college. I found one in the grocery store and tried it thinking it was going to be like a tomato. I was so deliciously, delightfully, beautifully wrong – persimmons are sweet, juicy, and just taste like autumn. Sorry that’s not more eloquent.
Almond Joy Strawberries
For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know my love affair with Chobani Greek yogurt has gotten pretty serious. Well, at least on my end. (Although they did send me three coupons and a free case of yogurt which arrives tomorrow, so maybe it’s more of a prom-couple-that-dates-for-the-convenience type of deal. Whichever it is, I’ll take it!) Unfortunately, I went through a period last year where I couldn’t eat lactose and it was the gentlest form of torture. So now that those circumstances are in the past, I have been putting Chobani in ALL of the things.
My newest Chobani adventure began when I decided to try something I’ve been seeing on a lot of different blogs:
Greek Yogurt dipped strawberries.
But of course I’m not just going to dip the strawberries in yogurt. I’m going to cover them in all sorts of goodness too.
I may be lazy, but I found the easiest way to go about dipping the strawberries was straight into the brand-new container of Chobani. Just stir to make it creamy and then dip away! The strawberries will come out evenly coated with a nice thick layer of yogurt.
I placed the dipped strawberries in a Pyrex baking dish that I lined with parchment paper to keep the berries from sticking. For toppings, I decided to make the berries like an Almond Joy (which is my favorite candy of all time besides sour gummi worms. I know, I’m a five-year-old) and use unsweetened coconut, crushed dry-roasted almonds, and dark chocolate.
Once the berries were dipped in the yogurt and sprinkled with the coconut/almonds, I popped them in the freezer to let the yogurt shell harden a bit (about 10 minutes). Then, I drizzled them with a combination of 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips (melted) and water, and froze for another 10-15 minutes until the shell was hardened.
TIP: Serve immediately, before the berries get too hard to bite into!
