Lunch in Rowayton Salad

My feet had toughened to the gritty sidewalk, but once in awhile a pebble dug in to my blackened soles. It reminded me to appreciate the nakedness that my feet were allowed to enjoy in the final days of summer. School was closing in fast. Fall would be wasted sitting at the window, guarded from the leaves as they fought for their survival on the lonely trees outside. At least there was soccer practice, and the basketball net in the driveway, and the warm smell of leaves to heat the chill in the air that was to come.

I tried to put fall out of my head, but the temperature dial of the wind had turned just a tad cooler, the humidity had lifted, and stores had begun stocking pencils and notebooks. Signs of autumn were everywhere. My cousin Faraday and I were walking from the harbor to Rowayton Pizza for a "little John" sandwich. Our over-sized T shirts concealed our ocean drenched bathing suits, and our ponytails were twisted into corkscrews. Salty wisps of hair stuck to my cheeks, and the sun flooded my vision. The cars on the road were overfilled with teenagers and played loud summer tunes as they whizzed by.

We stopped in Rowayton deli to say hello to Simon and Shawn, two boys that came from different families but looked like identical twins. They each had gone from skinny bean poles to broad-shouldered, wide-necked, muscular, bouncer-looking types at about the same time. The way they worked together reinforced the illusion that they were brothers, and although they were both blue-eyed with sandy blond hair they reminded me of young Italian boys in a mafia film.

Those were the days before our crimes were serious, before school took precedence, and before relationships got complicated. I can feel them on these late summer days as I dig my feet into the gravel and feel the pebbles dig into my blackened soles.

Lunch in Rowayton Salad
Heat 2 Tbsp hazelnut infused olive oil in a frying pan. Add 1 split chicken breast (with both pieces still attached so that it looks like a heart). Shake the pan right away so that the chicken doesn't stick. Add a little salt and 2 sprigs of rosemary for aroma. Brown on both sides, reduce heat and add 1 clove minced garlic. Cook until no longer pink on the inside.

In a bowl, mix together
3 celery stalks, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 tsp tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
add the chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

Spread some purple cabbage and sliced carrots on a platter. Top with chicken salad.

Christina's vote: "This salad made me throw away my rubber chicken"