Where I live every night of the summer we have Music in the Park from 7-8:30pm. It is such a lovely way to spend a summer evening that I find I am constantly trying to make portable easy dinners so that we can enjoy the spontaneity of all summer has to offer. I cooked a chicken last night and we still have a fridge full of cherries which led to the inspiration for tonight’s dinner.
Chicken Salad Picnic
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts from last nights dinner - diced (from our farmers market)
- 3 diced green onions (from our CSA)
- A small handful of chopped walnuts (from our bulk order)
- 1 cup sweet dark cherries, pitted and chopped (plus 6 to 8 whole for juicing)
- 2 Tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or kombucha)
- 2 Tbsp cherry juice (from our yard)
- 2 tsp honey (from our local apiary)
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (from the garden)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix chicken, onions, nuts, cherries and thyme together. Set aside.
- Whisk together oil, vinegar, juice, honey, salt and pepper.
- Pour over chicken mixture and stir to coat.
- Pack into a bucket with an ice pack and into the picnic cooler it goes!
- I picked a bunch of crisp lettuce from our garden to serve it on. I toss a couple ice cubes in the bowl of lettuce to help keep it crisp in the summer heat.
I’ve been making chicken salad after a recipe from the Narrows restaurant (I think that’s where it came from), adding a tablespoon of stone ground mustard to mayonnaise, balsalmic vinegar, and a shot of hot sauce to the mayo and throwing in dried cherries (Michigan’s are the best), and walnuts with the onion.