My Zen Monday + Monmouth Salad :: It’s that time of year when there are hours and hours of daylight left in the day once one gets home from work and it feels like so much can be accomplished and/or treasured during these precious hours. These are my favorite days of the year.

Today, I managed to get out of work a little early – the day was unusually slow, not to mention unusually sunny. Here are all the things that happened post work: I dropped off a bag of stuff at goodwill, filed an insurance claim(someone ran into me the other week!), laid in the yard and journaled 4 pages of thoughts and fears, went to yoga, came home and made an amazing salad(recipe below compliments of Monmouth, Oregon’s hippest resident), ate the salad on the porch in the sun while wearing shorts(important details!), talked with my sister, boxed up a pair of shoes that need to be returned via snail mail, and ordered a new phone for $1.00(I basically threw mine on the ground this weekend causing a horrendous shattering). Good thing I was eligible for the $1.00 upgrade!

There is something amazingly amazing and zenish about days that combine salad for dinner, an hour and a half of yoga, sister talk, and one dollar phones.

Grand Monmouth Salad:

• Greens (Monmouth suggests a combo of chopped spinach, arugula, and red cabbage)
• Avocado
• Green Apple
• Raisins (I used the golden kind)
• Toasted Almonds (I used walnuts, because that’s what I had)
• Grilled Chicken (This is optional and not part of Monmouth’s original directions, but as I’ve noted I was having a particularly ambitious evening, plus my diet lacks protein so I added chicken)
• Dressing: Dijon Mustard, Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil + A little soy sauce, maple syrup,and chopped garlic (I didn’t quite follow this exactly bc I didn’t have all the ingredients and it still turned out delicious)