First Taste of Spring

"That is one good thing about this world...

there are always sure to be more springs."

-L.M.Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

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Cook's notes: An easy healthy salad to start off spring.

 Chopped Chicken and Blueberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Cook's notes: A time saver buying a rotisserie chicken from the deli.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chopped cooked chicken  
• 5 cups mixed greens
• 1-pint of blueberries
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup pecans
• feta, goat or another soft cheese
• optional-diced red onions

Directions:

• Plate salad in following order: greens, chopped chicken, blueberries, cranberries, pecans, shredded or crumbled cheese
• Drizzle homemade dressing or a prepared blueberry vinaigrette over the top.

Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or Wild Blueberry, Black Currant or Blackberry Ginger Balsamic
• 1-2 tsp. brown sugar 
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Blood Orange Olive Oil

Directions:

• Place all ingredients in blender except olive oil. Blend until smooth.
• Slowly pour in olive oil and mix well.  
• Keep refrigerated in a container with a lid.

Today
by Billy Collins

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

Source: Poetry (April 2000).