Curried turkey salad

I am really so thankful and warmed by the outpouring of love and support y'all gave me following my Hard Day post. I have not since gotten much more sleep, but today we received some thrilling news, Mom's pain is lessening, and I shared some good laughs with friends.

Last night, in an attempt to eat something, eat well and make it snappy, I made my Curried Turkey Salad for dinner. It is so simple and flavorful, and I am never disappointed. Roast turkey, dried cherries, roasted cashews, scallions, a bit of fresh lemon juice and a curry mayo are all you need; you can whip this up in ten minutes, and it makes great leftovers.

Great Scot!

Today has been shockingly smooth, and I am feeling absolutely zen about tomorrow's luncheon. Though it all took many hours, I: grated seven pounds of carrots; sliced 2.5 pounds of feta into even squares; made an enormous vat of quinoa; got the curried turkey salad together; made two different dressings, one of which involves a dozen or so ingredients but is worth it; baked two herbed tomato tarts; and mis en placed everything else for final prep tomorrow. Throughout my fridge are utterly pleasing geometric containers whose clear glass walls reveal the neatly prepped contents within: minced jalapeños; thinly sliced serranos; finely chopped parsley, cilantro and mint. I am really excited and hope the food is well received. Look how pretty this serrano-lime vinaigrette is. I loved the natural striations of shallot, serrano, thyme, oil and vinegar so much that I didn't have the heart to shake it; will do so tomorrow!

www.em-i-lis.com

Less thrilling were the Jury Duty summons I found in my bit of mail and the call I received from the school nurse about one of my children having slathered some tree sap into a classmate's long, lovely hair. He said he was "aiming for her dress," as if that makes anything any better. Was he flirting? Time for summer I believe, although we're all sad about bidding this school year adieu.

As always I feel grateful: for the boys' marvelous school; for their outstanding teachers; for the community; and for the fact that never once have I heard either kid say, "I don't like school" or "I don't wanna go" or "Yay, summer means no school." They love school every day, and I can't imagine a better start to or attitude for the educational journeys that lie ahead for both.

Curried turkey salad

Keep this in mind when/if you have leftover turkey next week because it was a really nice meal! Homemade curried mayo with cubed turkey, dried cherries, toasted cashews, scallions and arugula. I'll post the recipe under Sides & Salads (soon to be separate sections) soon. Fresh mayo is so light, unbelievable really being that it's just egg yolk and a whole lotta oil. Yum, yum.