I have been out and about the past few days and as much as I love it, I have been tapping the heels of my ruby red slippers together to get back to my kitchen.

Tonight I was finally able to do so.  With the amazing weather I wanted to make something light and refreshing and one of my favorite salads is Nicoise.  But, I love just making spinoffs of it.  So, after walking around outside for hours and doing a mental inventory of my kitchen, I stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up the balance of ingredients I needed to make the ideal dinner.

My relaxing night preparing ‘Nicoise’ included making a vinaigrette with:

-Lemon olive oil

-Italian herb vinegar

-Dijon mustard

–Penzey’s Sunset Spices

-Garlic

-S&P

Then, the ingredients for the salad ended up being:

-Arugula

-Pan seared shrimp

-Green beans

-Grape tomatoes

-Artichoke hearts

-Greek olives

-Peanuts

-Generic triscuits on the side

Oh yeah, red wine, too.  Had more of what I was enjoying while writing the post about the wine bar in Annapolis — Anakena Pinot Noir from Chile.  It’s about $13/bottle in the DC-area.

All in all, delicious and refreshing.  Trader Joe’s has great fresh, frozen and canned ingredients.  Actually, there is VERY little that isn’t great at TJ’s.  I will say, don’t go generic for triscuits, not worth it (I didn’t get the crackers at Trader Joe’s).

Great way to end the week.  And tomorrow is Monday, it’s supposed to be in the upper 70s, and work calls.  I digress…