Celery and Heart of Palm Salad

There’s something about traveling that gets my taste buds going. I want to try everything that region has to offer and then, if it’s good, I want to go home and recreate it.

I spent 6 weeks in the Northwest this summer. I planned to eat my fill of local cherries, peaches, blueberries and other fruits Washington and Oregon have to offer, but somehow I missed the seasons for those. Regardless, we made our way to other local food shops that made up for it. Have you been to Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle?

Oh my! I think we went in three times just to try their samples. Pikes Place was chef’s heaven. I honestly can’t imagine what it’d be like to live close enough to a market place like that where you could buy everything fresh and go home to cook it for dinner. Sigh! We tried pastries at Le Panier, an authentic French bakery, and crumpets at The Crumpet Shop. Storyville got high ratings from my coffee connoisseur brother and, if we hadn’t eaten 5 breakfasts already, I would have ordered some of their amazing looking waffles. Just their logo makes me happy, but the whole place was pretty awesome.

As good as the food was in Seattle, it’s hard to beat my sister-in-law’s cooking at Lake Chelan. She always inspires me with her culinary prowess and her upbeat personality. The hearts of palm in this salad, along with the simple lemon dressing, are ideas I got from her.

You rarely see celery as a main ingredient – it remains constant and reliable as a base in mirepoix – but I think it deserves a little more fan fare.

Please welcome celery starring as the main character in this tangy salad!

• 1 head celery, sliced, including leaves
• 2 cans heart of palm, sliced
• zest from one lemon
• juice from 3 lemons
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. capers
• 1 red jalapeno, diced
• 1/2 t. minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 1/2 t. fresh ground pepper

Toss everything together and let chill for a few hours before serving.

What amazing food places did you discover this summer?

 

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