My husband and I just returned from the best vacation we’ve ever taken. We went up to Cape Cod for 5 days, and then spent another 3 days in Boston. I love getting away from NYC in the summertime. There is something about breathing in the smell of fresh cut grass, strolling outside with a hot dog or ice cream cone, and adjusting to the slower rhythms of small town life that makes me nostalgic for childhood summers.
For the first three days of our vacation I walked around with a big, idiot grin on my face. I kept remarking to Mr. K that something would inevitably go wrong on this trip since everything up to that point had been so perfect. He would simply respond by shaking his head at me. Whether slurping down raw oysters, reveling an IPA, or breathing in the smell of salty ocean air, I was in a kind of vacation trance, whereby everything we did seemed to me to be the perfect thing to be doing at that exact moment.
One of the highlights of our trip to Cape Cod was the 3-course breakfast we were served every morning out on the back patio of our Bed and Breakfast. The owners of the B&B were this extremely gracious older couple, and the husband proudly told us that he made all the meals. Every morning I would go for a jog, and then my husband and I would proceed downstairs like two kids on Christmas morning, eagerly anticipating that day’s breakfast. The courses included dishes like baked eggs in prosciutto “cups”, applesauce pancakes with bacon, and fruit parfaits. Mr. K and I would take our time savoring every bite, and I took added pleasure in being served a home-cooked meal.
After we returned home, one of the first things I did was write down all of the great moments from this trip that I didn’t want to forget. The next time I have a stressful day or week, I will look at that list to be reminded of life’s pleasures.
Speaking of which, this salad is truly of one of my current pleasures. I can’t eat it without moaning just a little bit. I got the idea for it from a local restaurant that makes a similar salad. If you like bacon at all, you will enjoy this salad. It’s crisp and slightly sweet from the apples, smoky from bacon, tangy from creamy goat cheese, and it has a delicious bite from ginger vinaigrette. It’s so tasty! Oh, and my apologies for only taking one picture this time around. I was running late and we were starving, so it was the best I could do. Quick tangent: when we were in Boston we ducked into a run-of-the-mill pub near Boston Common for lunch one day. I wasn’t that hungry so I ordered a BLT, thinking I would just eat the 2 or 3 strips of bacon out of the sandwich along with the tomato and lettuce and that would be that. Well, the sandwich had a PILE of bacon in it. We’re talking at least 8 strips of bacon. I ate a pile of bacon for lunch, and I had absolutely no regrets.
Apple, Bacon and Goat Cheese Salad w/ Ginger Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 5 oz. baby spinach
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- 1/3 cup walnuts toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 Fuji apple quartered and diced
- 8 strips of applewood-smoked bacon
Ginger Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- sea salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crispy, around 8 minutes. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Meanwhile, place spinach on 4 plates.
- Crumble goat cheese and distribute evenly, along with walnuts and apples, over each salad.
- Roughly chop cooked bacon and distribute onto salads.
- Add olive oil to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, ginger, sea salt and black pepper. Dress salads, toss, and serve.
This really sounds good! I will have to try this!