Chicken and Vegetable Salad with Hummus Dressing; Ma Belle Soeur

Chicken and Vegetable Salad with Hummus Dressing

In French, one’s in-laws are called ‘belle-famille’.

Sister-in-law is ‘belle-soeur’; brother-in-law is ‘beau-frère’.

Mother-in-law is ‘belle-mère’; father-in-law beau-père.

Belle/beau means beautiful, lovely or handsome.

The same words are used, in extended families, to refer to a stepmother, stepfather, etc.

Wouldn’t you rather be referred to as a belle-mère than a stepmother? (Maybe they have a different term for the traditional ‘evil stepmother’… any help from expats here in France with kids?)

Do you think that having terms reflecting positive attributes is indicative of a more loving feeling about the extended family?

Or does having terms reflecting positive attributes try to encourage and support a more loving feeling?

The chicken or the egg…..

What do you call your parents and/or in-laws?

The British  are pretty consistent with mummy and daddy; even among adult children.

I must admit I find it strange to hear a 25 year-old call his mother ‘mummy’….

It’s occasionally shortened to mum – like The Queen Mum.

When I was a little girl I called my mother ‘mommy’.

When I was a teenager I called her ‘mom’.

When I became an adult (still under debate) I started calling her ‘mother’.  I thought it represented a more mature relationship (foolish, I know).

My older brother calls her ‘ma’.

He started calling her ‘ma’ as a teenager: because she hated it and he was a boy and that’s what teenage boys do.  It kind of stuck…but only for him.

Mon beau-fils (stepson) addresses me by my first name and refers to me as his mom, mother, stepmother, or stepmom, depending on the situation.  When his (other) mother and I are together, we’re ‘the two moms’.

With all of these words are we making our relationships overly complicated?

Or do they allow us a certain subtlety, depending on mood and circumstances, that one word couldn’t possible do?

My mind has been wandering again… If you see it, could you send it back, please?

Perhaps if I eat more vegetables  herbs…

There are new happenings at Weekend Herb Blogging.  Our illustrious founder Kalyn, of Kalyn’s Kitchen, wants to bring the focus a wee bit more sharply to the herbs….
Rumor has it that some of us, ahem, (who? ME?) have been sneaking off into the vegetable world a little too frequently.

Sigh, guilty, as charged.

And to make matters worse, I decided I really had to share this salad, which is chock-a-block with vegetables, before the new/old rules go into effect on July 20th.  She’s has everything outlined very nicely so be sure and read it soon.

But first, on Monday, visit Pam, of Sidewalk Shoes, this week’s host, for the recap of all the herb-y (and veggie) posts.

I love fresh herbs, and use them with abandon in all of my summer cooking.  But I have found food with an oriental flavor to be a bit more of a challenge to pair with herbs.

Chives and garlic chives, naturally; the other one I always head to is the parsley.  It’s more than a pretty garnish.  It’s full of flavor, vitamins and has “chemoprotective” oils which have been shown to inhibit tumor growth in animals (according to World’s Healthiest Foods) and to help neutralize carcinogens.

So, eat your parsley!

Chicken and Vegetable Salad with Hummus Dressing

2 small chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
2 tbs Teriyaki sauce
1/2 red bell pepper
1 onion
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1 avocado
1 carrot
2 tbs fresh snipped parsley
1 tbs fresh snipped garlic chives
lettuce for 2 main meal salads
Hummus Dressing

Pour Teriyaki sauce over chicken and set aside. Clean and slice the pepper into strips. Cut the onion in half and slice thickly. Heat oil and soy sauce in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add onions and stir-fry quickly, just until starting to get soft. Add pepper and stir-fry for 2 – 4 minutes. They should be getting brown spots but still be crisp-tender. Remove from heat and spread on a plate or tray to cool quickly.
Start to cook chicken, either on barbecue grill or in nonstick skillet, 12 – 15 minutes.
While chicken cooks: Make the Dressing. Prepare lettuce and put in large salad bowl. Slice the avocado. Slice the carrot into paper thin strips using the vegetable peeler. Add a bit of dressing to lettuce and toss well to coat. Add carrot, peppers, onions, herbs and a bit more dressing and toss well. Arrange avocado slices around edge of salad. When chicken is done, thinly slice and arrange in center of salad. Drizzle a bit of dressing on the avocado and chicken and serve.

Hummus Dressing

3 tbs hummus
1 tbs sherry vinegar
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs Teriyaki sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs walnut oil

In small bowl whisk hummus, vinegar, sugar, Teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and mustard. Slowly whisk in oils.

Bon Weekend!

Tomorrow…. The boot sale!  aka vide grenier,  garage sale, yard sale.  Another first for me… and I have to leave at 6:30  in the morning!!!!!!