While recently nosing through a friends kitchen, I found my new favorite cookbook!! The title is "Fast & Healthy Recipes", and the recipe ideas are timeless (it was published in '95). The book includes many creative meal options using a large variety of ingredients, which we can all appreciate in the somewhat unexciting world of "healthy" cooking.

I tried the Warm Stir-Fried Salad for a late lunch over the weekend. Warm salads are a great summertime meal, blending cool and crisp with warm and hearty. Trying this quick and yummy recipe will get you instantly curious about the rest of the book.

WARM STIR-FRIED SALAD

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tbsp fresh tarragon
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz)
2 in piece ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 Napa cabbage
1/2 chicory lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup unsalted cashews
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into fine strips
salt and pepper

1. Chop the tarragon.
2. Cut the chicken into fine strips and place in a bowl.
3. To make the marinade, mix together in a bowl the tarragon, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and seasoning.
4. Pour the marinade over the chicken and leave for 2-4 hours.
5. Strain the chicken from the marinade. Heat the wok, then add the oil. When the oil is hot, stir-fry the chicken for 3 minutes, add the marinade and bubble for 2-3 minutes.
6. Slice the Napa cabbage and arrange on a plate with the chicory. Toss the cashews and carrots together with the chicken, pile on top of the bed of lettuce and serve immediately.

You can prep this meal ahead of time by marinating the chicken and chopping the veggies, which will let you make a super quick dinner when you're ready. I always like to know about the foods that I'm eating, so I did some research on tarragon, which is in the marinade, because I rarely eat it. It does a lot of great things for the body including healing of the stomach and liver, and aid of digestion. Check out this link to a complete article about the benefits of tarragon.