Avocado Beet Goat Cheese Salad

Sometimes, things come together on a plate and it’s Just Right.
This salad from last week was just that. A delight.
I took my time making it, savoring every step of the process, then savoring every. single. bite. Slowly. Mindfully. Joyfully.

Wanted to use the beets that were left over from my beet panini from the other day, and I had just bought some delicious-looking goat cheese and pears. The stars were aligned, and then I aligned them all on my plate.

The play between textures and sharpness of flavors between the pears and the goat cheese was wonderful, and was nicely complimented by the fresh earthiness of the greens.
I actually enjoyed some parts of the salad that had no dressing on them, as it allowed me to really taste the ingredients.

Ingredients:
Mixed salad greens, about 2 cups
1 pear, sliced
1/3 can sliced beets
1/4 to 1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled (mine was an herbed chevre)
1/2 avocado, sliced

Dressing:
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 – 2 teaspoons olive oil (I tend to keep the oil to a minimum, but if you enjoy  more oil on your salad, go ahead and use more)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried or fresh rosemary
fresh black pepper to taste
Using a fork or small whisk, whisk the dressing ingredients together

To prepare the salad, assemble the greens on your plate, then place the beets, avocados, and goat cheese on top of the greens. Assemble the pear slices around the plate, then either drizzle the dressing on top of the salad, or keep it on the side.

Here’s to a greener, healthier us! After eating this salad you will feel both satisfied (by the healthy fats in the olive oil and avocado), and light – a great combination in my opinion.

Hazelnut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello friends! It’s Friday, a day to indulge in the leisurely, the entertaining, the delicious. In that theme, I thought I would share a recipe for a cookie that has quickly risen to the top echelon of recipes in our household.
It is the go-to, default dessert request I get from my family (to the point where sometimes I ask “Are you SURE you don’t want to try something else????”

I’m not namin names here, but I HAVE had to wrestle trays of these cookies away from the hands of someone in this house to prevent them from eating the whole batch. (Ahem. Proud of youuuu!!)

It might be a bit of a challenge to find the Hazelnut butter for this recipe, (only 1 of the 3 Whole Foods in the city I live in carries it!) but once you get your hands on some, it’s SOOOO worth it. Trust me.

*Tip #1: Make sure you mix the hazelnut butter really well before using, since the oil tends to separate and sit on the top of the container. If you don’t mix the oil back in you will end up with a really dry cookie.
*Tip #2: You can use varying amounts of unbleached white and whole wheat flour for this recipe, depending on your taste!
*Tip #3: We don’t like our cookies very sweet, so feel free to use 1/2 cup of each of the sugars instead of 1/3 if you prefer a sweeter cookie!
*Tip #4: (Phew, last one, I promise!) I’ve also used 1 Tablespoon of ground flaxseed + 3 Tablespoons of water as a substitution for the 1 egg listed in the ingredients. It works!!

Hazelnut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 20 cookies (or maybe a bit more – they seem to disappear before I can count them :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened (I usually put it in the microwave for about 20 – 30 seconds, until just a little bit of it starts to melt, then take it out)
1/2 cup Hazelnut butter, stirred
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup unbleached white flour (you can also just use 1/2 cup + 2/3 cup unbleached white flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can use more if you like more chocolate chips per cookie)

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F, and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a hand-held electric mixer, blend the two butters together until well incorporated (about 2 – 3 minutes).
Add the sugars, and blend for another 2 minutes, or until the sugars have been incorporated well into the butters.
Add 1/2 cup of the flour (I usually add the whole wheat flour here), the egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and mix well.
Once the above ingredients are mixed, add in the rest of the flour, mix for about a minute, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon measure, measure out tablespoons of batter and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten the dough balls a bit with the palm of your hand.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies start to brown at the edges.

Remove cookies from oven, and place on wire racks to cool for about 5 – 10 minutes.

While cookies are cooling, chase your cookie monsters away with a large spatula as you practice sprinting from one end of the kitchen to the other (must incorporate some sort of fitness training into the process, OBVIOUSLY).

Eat. Enjoy. You’re welcome.

Oh, I lied. One more tip:
*Tip #5: These cookies are best enjoyed dipped into bitter black coffee (for the adults), or a glass of cold cold milk (the kiddos and kiddos at heart!)