A Refreshing Trip

I spent this past weekend visiting with my mom in Philadelphia – she just moved there from Atlanta, and is still getting acclimated to a whole new city. We did all of the tourist-y things, from Reading Terminal Market (a foodie’s paradise) to Independence Hall. Having never spent much time in Philadelphia, I can officially say I’m enamored with that city – it’s similar to Boston (both epicenters of American history/tons of cultural opportunities), and has a great energy. Before leaving for the airport, we had a quick, healthy lunch of Curried Chicken Salad.
Rather than being the bland, mayonnaise-laden salad that you encountered at every family picnic, this salad has way more to offer with half the guilt. The recipe is courtesy of Food Network’s health guru, Ellie Krieger. With degrees in nutrition and public health, she creates dishes that are both flavorful and wholesome. For this salad, she replaces mayonnaise with Greek yogurt.
She adds grapes for a touch of sweetness and color, cilantro to liven it up, and almonds for the added texture. That’s it! After one bite, my mom was hooked. It can be served atop a bed of greens, in a sandwich, or on crackers. So if you’ve got a rough week ahead, whip up a batch of this to give you a boost – click HERE to see how.
For the musical pairing, I wanted to choose a composer my mother truly adores – Mozart. His style beautifully complements the lightness of this dish. As there were only four major components in this salad (aside from the dressing), I thought a quartet would be suitable for this. So I chose his String Quartet No.4 in C major KV 157. This was one of the six quartets Mozart composed while in Milan (called the Milanese Quartets) – he was only sixteen at the time. The recording I’ve included is by the Jerusalem String Quartet. Thanks for a wonderful weekend in Philly, Mom – enjoy!