apple and rosemary chicken salad

Yup, things continue to be quiet around here. I'll tell you why, and it seems a little bit weird to be doing so while at the same time presenting you with a mayonnaise based salad...

Friends, no matter how many baked goods and treats you give away to your friends, eating unhip squirrel style is unhealthy. I always had the intention of presenting delectable morsels to you as once in a while treats, but the reality is that this blog has an "EAT ALL THE THINGS!!!!" sort of vibe. Because I get really excited about food. Oh man. I really love to be creative and fun and experiment with different flavours.

And do you know what can happen when you do that? You can gain ten pounds in one year, on top of the ten pounds you gained the year before.

In the past two weeks, I've had a fundamental shift in thinking. I took some time to educate myself about what I was actually eating, and how much I should be eating. This process was really, really enlightening. There's going to be a fundamental change around here. Does that mean there will be no cupcakes? No ribs? No, it doesn't. It means that these things WILL be posted, but with a more reasonable frequency. I have to adjust my style of cooking to be healthier. That doesn't mean including fake ingredients with gross fillers - eating real is still important to me (though I will admit to bending my own rules a bit for the next couple of months). This blog will still be a source of recipes for real cooking and real eating. And it will still be creative. It will just be healthier.

And now, I'll briefly attempt to describe this chicken salad - a once and a while food and the last item saved up from my pre-enlightenment days - without making myself hungry. The chicken and apple combo is a no-brainer, as is the chicken and rosemary. So.. why not go the whole hog and put it all together. I put this bad boy in a sandwich containing spring mix of lettuces, cucumber, sprouts, gouda & dijon mustard.

apple and rosemary chicken salad

1 heaping cup diced leftover (or store-bought rotisserie) chicken
1/3 cup diced apple
10 green grapes, halved
1 teaspoon finely minced shallot
1/4 cup rosemary garlic aioli 
freshly cracked pepper to taste
(I found that I did not need salt as both the mayonnaise and the chicken were heavily seasoned).

• Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve in sandwiches or refrigerate immediately.