Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Cycle Butt and My Favorite Salad

I tried spinning class for the first time ever on Monday night. Sometimes I get really bored with working out and I try to throw in some variety when this happens. Mostly I go through elliptical and treadmill phases and have been lifting weights 1-2 times per week for about 6 months. I also make an effort to go to yoga at least once a week. Currently, I cannot even look at an elliptical machine. Ew. One of my favorite work outs is running stairs - if you live in San Francisco or are visiting and are sado-masochistic like myself, I highly recommend the Lyon St Steps. I digress. My point is I need variety in my work out routine and Monday led me to my first ever spinning class. It was hard - SO much harder than I even expected. My legs were burning something fierce but the worst part was my poor little hiney - I just could not find a way to sit comfortably on the bike saddle. How people go on 100 mile bike rides is beyond me for the simple reason that two days later my backside still feels bruised. Anyway, it was still pretty fun and I will probably be back to torture myself next week. An hour of intense cardio just flew on by. While my legs were burning really badly during class, they actually were not sore at all the next day, so I will probably push the resistance more next time. If I'm working that hard, I better feel it the next day! Yes, I know, I am crazy.

On to my favorite salad of all time. Okay, so that is probably an excellent example of hyperbole, because I love lots of different types of salads. I make my salads as decadent as possible with lots of "stuff." I hate salads that have hardly any toppings! Lettuce is okay but it's the mix ins that make a salad really desirable, if you ask me. This particular bowl o' greens is directly inspired by a salad on the menu at Somerset in Rockridge (North Oakland - no, it's actually not ghetto): Roasted Beet Salad arugula, ruby grape­fruit, avo­cado, gor­gonzola and cham­pagne vinaigrette. I call it my "favorite" (to use the term loosely) because it contains some of my very favorite foods: avocado, grapefruit, beets, cheese, and onions.

All tasty salads begin first with a sumptuous dressing. My basic formula (learned from a British ex-pat residing in the South of France):

  • Olive Oil (you want this to be of good tasting quality, one you would dip a crusty baguette in - My favorite on the cheap is Trader Joe's Spanish or Sicilian - you could also use grape seed oil or any flavorful nut oil - I am sure that hazelnut oil would be great)
  • Vinegar or Citrus Juice (my standard is Balsamic or fresh lemon juice)
  • Dijon (I use Maille - I just think it tastes better than any other, probably because it's French, and to me that seems classy haha)
  • Honey
  • Salt & Pepper

Obviously you can tweak this to suit your tastes or ingredients on hand. It can be made super fancy with gourmet oils and vinegars or just stick to the basics - either way it is tasty. The measurements I use are my eyeballs but I guess for one serving you could do 1 tbsp oil to 1-2 tbsp vinegar depending on how sweet/sour your choice is, 1/2 tsp mustard and 1/4 tsp honey. You can also add any manner of herbs, garlic cloves, and/or minced shallots. Yum! A note on Dijon - I use the fine ground, creamy type, but the stone ground is much milder if you do not like the mustard bite. I used to hate Dijon! This dressing is what converted me to a mustard loving lady.

For my version of this extra special salad I used:

Dressing:

Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Dijon
Honey
Salt & Pepper

Mixed baby greens (no arugula on hand)
1/4 small yellow onion thinly sliced into half moons
1 smallish avocado
1 small pink grapefruit, supremed
1/2 cup roasted beets (snagged from my roomie! Thanks, Lu!)
Humboldt Fog crumbles (I had no Gorgonzola on hand - this made an excellent, milder substitute)

Mix together the dressing ingredients in the bottom of the salad bowl. Put the thinly sliced onions into the dressing and toss to coat. Leave to sit while you prepare the other ingredients - this gives the onions a chance to get a quick pickle going on, making them even better, if that's possible.Put the greens of your choice atop the dressing and marinating onions - don't toss yet!

To supreme the grapefruit, use a sharpish knife to cut away the rind and then cupping the fruit gently in one hand use your dominant hand to slice between the membranes - the pithy lines in the fruit, you know, the part that's super hard to chew, cutting away just the juicy fleshy parts (that sounds pretty steamy, doesn't it? it is!). Bonus points for sucking the rest of the juice from the left over membranes. Mmm dirty. If you don't like grapefruit, feel free to sub another citrus -I think blood oranges would go particularly well and look beautiful. Drop supremes delicately atop the lettuces. Supremes is pronounced the French way - the best way I can think to phoneticize that is soo-prems and to supreme would be to soo-prem (rhymes with ahem. sort of). Tres chic! 

Dice your avocado and add it to the party along with your roasted beets and crumbled cheese. You can buy prepared beets at Trader Joe's near the lettuce and you can sub any crumbly cheese you like - if you don't like bleu then use goat or feta. Stir everything up, top with fresh cracked pepper, and don't be surprised if you forget you are eating a salad because this meal is just that decadent.



Isn't she a beaut?


I'm ready for my close up, Mr. De Mille!


All stirred up!

I thoroughly enjoyed this little baby. I think it's kind of fancy and would do very well at a dinner party or for impressing a date. Beets and goat cheese are all the rage these days. Okay, I think it's time for me to sign off! Happy eating!

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