Happy Valentines Day to all my favorite, faithful foodie readers out there! Muah!

I'm pretty sure one of the ways the Lord is showing me that our move to New England was the right one...is that it's pretty much been in the 40-50's all "winter". :)

Spring Grapefruit & Apple Salad with White Wine Vinegarette
When I make a salad, I like the ingredients to be all different textures and varying sizes (within reason...I still want to be able to create "the perfect bite"). I also want it to be pretty too, who doesn't? This salad fits the bill...juicy pink grapefruit pieces, tart, crisp green apple slices, toasted sliced almonds, dark curly kale & tender spinach have all the makes to be in the running for "the perfect bite".

Salad
1 Pink Grapefruit, sliced with membraines removed
1 Small Green Apple, sliced thinly
1/2 cup kale, cut in a rough chop/chiffonade
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 tbsp toasted & sliced almonds

Dressing
1 tsp flaxseed oil (olive will do)
1/2 tbs white wine vinegar
1/2 tbs apple cidar vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place spinach in your bowl of choice. Add kale (sliced like this -  but in a bigger chop).
2. Trim rind off grapefruit & slice into pieces discarding the membraine (like below). Add to salad. Whatever you don't use, put away remaining amounts in fridge for a snack for later.
3. Slice apple thinly. Add to salad; and again, put whatever you don't use in the fridge but squeeze a little lemon on top first to prevent browning.
4. Combine all ingredients for dressing. Whisk until emulsified.

5. Dress salad & top with almonds.

New York....New. York.Ahhhh how a weekend in this city can re-energize my soul and tire my legs.Our anniversary is in October, so Andrew decided the perfect way to celebrate was with an east coast "stay-cation" to NY on one of the last beautiful "indian summer" weekends this past fall. We like to stay at this little brownstone on the Upper West Side where the streets are quiet, friendly, and Central Park is a mere 1/2 block to the east. So we packed our bags and rolled towards the city on Friday morning.The city was wonderful: "quiet" and 65 degrees cool as we took our morning walking down 3rd Avenue from Grand Central to SoHo (yes we walked from E 42nd street to below Houston...44 blocks). We explored for a bit, shopped, and headed north to the UWS. 20 minutes and a cat nap later we were walking down Columbus to our favorite West side lunchery: Nanoosh. They are a little Middle Eastern place between 68/69th on Broadway just north of Lincoln Center. We love their hummus, tabbouleh, and especially their mint iced tea. It's perfection. Plus, outdoor seating to people watch on a beautiful fall day.For dessert, another west side find...Levain Bakery.Um...ya. Only the best, warm, crumbly, delectable chocolate chip walnut cookie in New York City...truly the best cookie you'll ever eat. Not to be beat out by the laundry list of other delicious treats we had during our city-stay. I mean: we had crepes. we had beer. we had panini's. we had the best sweet potato fries i've ever had. The cookie was just a snack on our way back downtown. But oh so good.

apple pomegranate tabbouleh

One thing I have really missed about our neighborhood in Chicago, was you could get good middle eastern food at multiple places within a 3 block radius of our house. I have been making middle eastern food at home for a few years now...things like hummus, tabbouleh, taziki sauce, jerusalem salad; but I think this recipe always is my favorite. You can make it year round since most of these ingredients simple to find. My favorite part is the chopped fresh parsley, crisp apples, and tart pomegranates that pop in your mouth.

• 1 cup bulgur
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
• 1 apple, chopped - any kind (preferably something crunchy but not tart)
• 1 cup of pomegranate seeds (you can buy these at the grocery store if you don't want to seed your own pom)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tbs paprika

Place bulgar in a pan (I use a longer pyrex glass dish) and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes...the bulgar should soak up all the water. Fluff with a fork.Chop all the above ingredients and combine in a bowl.Toss everything in a bowl with bulgar. Sprinkle paprika and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to let flavors develop. Toss again before serving.