Roasted Corn and Jicima Salad

       Tired of the same old vegetables in your salads, and on your table? How about try something new! For those of you that have never had Jicima it is a root that is crunchy like an apple, but not sweet, it has a finish similar to a watercress that has just a little bit of bite. You can cook it, but I prefer to use it for crudite or in in a salad.  I love these type of salads this time of year because it just makes me feel like spring is in the air!  And what better way to celebrate spring, and this lovely vegetable than with the Latin American flavors that we find where this delicious root comes from.  Let's Begin with the dressing shall we?

Jalapeno Lime Viniagrette

1 Jalapeno- Roasted-  put in a pan under the broiler turning on a regular basis to char the outside.  Once it is charred put in a container covered to let it finish cooking itself while you are getting the other ingredients together.  Next you will need

Zest and Juice of 1 Lime

1 Tsp Shallot, minced

1 TBS rice wine vinegar

1 TBS honey

1/4 tsp ground cumin

pinch of salt and pepper

puree all of this (including the jalapeno, seed it if you don't want the heat) together then slowly  drizzle in

1 cup salad oil to make an emulsified dressing

For the salad itself you are going to need 

1 Jicima root- Peel it and then cut it into a fat matchstick shape about 1/4 inch square by 1 1/2 inches long

1 ear of corn,  roasted then the kernels removed- you can roast this similarly to the jalapeno, just rub it down with a little bit of oil salt and pepper then put it in the oven under the broiler, turn it as it begins to brown just a bit and then let it cool and cut the kernels off the cob. 

1/4 red onion, julienne

1 roasted red pepper, peeled, seeded and diced

1 TBS roughly chopped cilantro
Toss it in about half the dressing and then add a little bit until it has enough moisture.  I like to save the rest of the dressing to put on whatever greens I use to go under the salad.   Hope you enjoy this delicious, fresh way to ring in spring!

Curry Chicken Salad

      Chicken Salad is a simple enough treat and done right it is a low fat, high protein snack.  This one is a twist on a southern favorite, Curry Chicken Salad.  Many people make this salad with cream cheese and sour cream or mayonnaise, but for our purposes we will use the ever versatile greek yogurt.  Also, for another cheat I used canned chicken.  It saves time, shreds nicely and has a good texture without being dry.  Otherwise I really like using grilled chicken thigh meat.  It's juicy, though a little higher in fat.
      Before you start mixing everything together lightly toast
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Let them cool as you mix all the other ingredients:
1- 12 oz can cooked chicken breast, drained
2 TBS Preserves (I like using mango chutney, but as I didn't have any I used apricot preserves.  Orange Marmalade works really well too)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 tsp Sweet Curry Powder- Penzey's  is my favorite place to get spices, they are usually salt free and extremely flavorful.  If you like a little more heat to yours try out any of the hotter varieties
1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
2 TBS Mayonnaise   (I add the mayo for the mouth feel, but if you prefer just do 1/2 cup of greek yogurt)
and of course once your almonds are cooled add them in.  When you first mix it together it won't have much color, but as it sits it will get bright yellow from the tumeric in the curry powder. 
I like having it in lettuce wraps, or just scooped on crackers.  And it's really good with toasted coconut on top too. 

Krys- sorry this took so long to get up.  I've been working too much, as usual.  Love you!