Happy Spring!! I swear it felt like it would never get here. My birthday is the beginning of May and it’s always hit or miss for the weather. Some years it can mean I finally bust out my dresses and sandals and this year…I broke out my heavy winter sweaters! Yikes!

Now Memorial Day is right around the corner and this weekend we finally have beautiful weather! I even busted out my favorite maxi dress and sandals for dinner and a concert Saturday night. Gasp, we even had cocktails outside! It was night and day from an extremely cold and gloomy Mother’s day the weekend prior. I might do a little round up this week of the spots I’ve been out and about to in my home town of New Haven, CT since I’ve actually been leaving the house now that the real winter cold has passed. So stay tuned.

Mother’s day at Roìa

Drinks with some lady friends before a concert on a gorgeous Saturday evening outside Elm City Social

I have a few soup recipes stashed away to post up but I thought I’d celebrate the beautiful weather with a favorite recipe I like to make in the summer. It’s super easy and a great alternative for picnic lunches. Summertime brings lots of fun outdoor activities and events so I like to whip up my favorite chicken salad for days we are on the go.

When I made this recipe I had actually roasted a chicken, used half for a Chicken Orzo soup (to be published someday?) and the leftover half for this. Alternatively, if I am without leftover chicken- I’ve been known to just throw some salt + pepper on some chicken breasts and bake them in the oven quickly.

I also like my chicken salad to be pretty fine so I chop everything up in my food processor. The only thing I leave for folding in at the end is the toasted almonds. I don’t like to over process them because then the salad is just gritty. Leaving that little bit of crunch helps the texture.

Sliced almonds over a medium heat toast up pretty fast so are sure to watch them. They can go from toasty to burnt VERY quickly.

I hope you all are enjoying this nice weather as much as I am! Big updates coming for our 2019 garden soon! And if you’re still in the mood for soup leave a comment and I might dust those posts off and get them up for ya! 😉

Chicken Salad with Toasted Almonds and Tarragon

• 1lb chicken breast (or leftover roasted chicken)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 Tbsp dried tarragon (or 3 Tbsp fresh)
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or juice from half a lemon)
• 3/4 cups of sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• Salt and Pepper

In a small bowl whisk together your mayonnaise and lemon juice and set aside. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium heat and add almonds. stir constantly until they smell fragrant and start turning golden/brown. They will burn very quickly so remove from heat quickly. In the food processor, combine chicken, celery, mayonnaise mixture, and salt and pepper. Pulse until combined and has the desired texture you’d like. Move mixture to a large mixing bowl and fold in tarragon and toasted almonds.