New Post: My Favorite Apple Spinach Salad

Check out the new recipes and articles from Gimme Some Oven! [View this email in your browser] [Gimme Some Oven] [Share] [Tweet] [+1] [Forward] My Favorite Apple Spinach Salad [My favorite Apple Spinach Salad is made with tons of baby spinach and crisp apples, toasted nuts, soft cheese, and a zippy vinaigrette. Perfect for autumn, and so easy to make! | gimmesomeoven.com] Last Monday night, I decided it was time to buy [Barclay] a “sharp” little present. I had taken off work a few hours early that day to head over to his place and cook up a big “family dinner” for all seven of his bandmates (and their significant others) to share together after rehearsal.  And I was totally looking forward to the dinner!  But I was a little apprehensive about the idea of cooking for a dozen+ people in his kitchen.  Because the process of actually cooking in there can sometimes be…well, how might we say…its own kind of improvisation. Basically, it’s a total bachelor’s kitchen.  He and his roommate shop exclusively (I’m not kidding) at their neighborhood Costco.  So the fridge is stocked with a half dozen cartons of almond milk, dozens of eggs, huge blocks of cheese, tubs of mixed greens, beer (of course)…and that’s about it.  Their pantry has a collection of random spices, Barc’s beloved oatmeal squares in bulk, some Costco-sized jars of coconut oil and olive oil and balsamic…and that’s about it.  Then they have a set of cookware, two small mixing bowls, and a handful of kitchen tools…but that’s about it.  Oh, and the microwave is in the basement, and the oven doesn’t work.  (<– A little ironic for dating the Gimme Some Oven girl.)  ;) Don’t get me wrong, ha, I totally love it.  It’s a cute little kitchen, and extra-cute when he’s there.  ;)  And for two bachelors who rarely cook — well, beyond making a bowl of “squares” for breakfast, or a big salad for lunch, or packing a big picnic (Barc’s specialty, which I love) for dinner — it totally works for them.  But cooking anything beyond that generally requires grocery bags full of ingredients be hauled over to his place, and a fair share of “improvising” happen with the random ingredients or cookware that I inevitably always forget. On Monday night, for example, I realized he didn’t have any large serving dishes, so I improvised and served salad for a dozen people in an enormous stockpot.  I also forgot he didn’t own a ladle, so we served up the [butternut squash soup] with a measuring cup.  Then in lieu of a full oven, I put his little toaster oven to work, roasting trays upon trays upon trays of veggies.  But the one thing I’ve learned that I can’t “improvise” my way around in his kitchen is working with knives that are — shall we say — less than sharp.  There just don’t seem to be many ways to get around that.  And sure enough, as I was standing there in the kitchen on Monday night, listening to the band practice in the other room, working on making a triple batch of this salad, and trying to thinly-slice a half dozen apples with a dull knife, and then watching said knife instead slip right off that apple and slice right through my finger — yet again — I decided it was time for a little gift-giving.  ;) I realize that it may now be the only thing in his kitchen now that’s not from Costco.  (Amazon Prime for the win!)  But I’m happy to say that Barclay’s kitchen is now the proud new owner of his first very sharp knife! And I, for one, couldn’t be happier.  ;) [(more…)] [Click here to view the full post on Gimme Some Oven] Recent Posts: [New Post: 20-Minute Tomato Soup] [New Post: 20-Minute Black Bean Burgers] [New Post: What To Expect On A Viking River Cruise] [New Post: Pumpkin Roll] Stay Connected! [Facebook] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Twitter] [Instagram] [Instagram] [Pinterest] [Pinterest] [Blog] [Blog] Copyright © 2016 Gimme Some Oven, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at Gimme Some Oven. Our mailing address is: Gimme Some Oven PO Box 32712 Kansas City, MO 64171 [Add us to your address book] [unsubscribe from this list] [update subscription preferences] [MailChimp Email Marketing]