Today was beautiful.  The sun was shining, the air was warm and for October 12 it felt more like late August.  When I got home from work I got our little Lucy and headed off for the farmer’s market at our local park.  We found all sorts of treasures including some baby turnips, organic carrots, organic arugula and fig and rosemary goats cheese.  I decided to turn it into a lovely salad for my dinner.

I began by cooking a boneless chicken breast in white balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  The chicken was started by browning it over a high flame and then moved into an oven until it had an internal temperature of 165.  When I took it out it had a lovely glaze to it.  I let it sit for about ten minutes before slicing it.

While the chicken was cooking, I washed and dried the arugula and then salted it lightly.  I brought a large pan of salted water to a roaring boil and added the baby turnips which had been cut free from their greens.  I blanched them for about three minutes and then placed them into an ice bath.  In the same boiling water I added the sliced carrots for about two minutes and then added them to the ice bath as well.

It was time to assemble this easy dinner and I simply placed the arugula on the plate, topped with sliced chicken and decorated with the turnips and carrots before I lightly dressed it with a white balsamic vinaigrette. To finish it off I crumbled the fresh fig and rosemary goats cheese and added it to the top.  By blanching the turnips and carrots it allowed the flavor of the vegetables to shine through.  This was a light and delicious supper on a warm fall night.