Thanks to my devotion to ShabbyNest I’ve been getting myself organized for making big decisions for our finishings in the parts of the house that are going to be changed due to the addition. 

This is basically all of the house and I’ve been feeling a bit adrift.

My sister made suggestions and I was able to decide the colour of the siding (Sage) but everything else was kind of hazy.  That’s not good.

So what I’ve been doing is creating pages with all of the magazine clippings that I’ve been saving and all of the colours that we’ve been discussing.

Due to my addiction to decorating mags I’ve had a lot to choose from and I’ve been showing possibilities to “the boys” as I come across something that we might want to consider. 

This is what I’ve come-up with so far.  I really should be creating an electronic version but this is fun and also portable.  I could bring my laptop to the paint store and furniture stores but…I just don’t envision myself juggling the babes and my purse and…

What can I say-I really like colour.  I especially like colour in the midst of a Canadian winter when there doesn’t seem to be any colour left in the world. 

That seems to be the way that I need to decorate. Oh. And storage built in everywhere.

However, a lot of this can’t be acted upon until the end of July so let’s think of a gorgeous lunch instead.

My mom was talking the other day about how my Grandma Kelly would often have the Women’s Institute over for tea once a month and they would plan out the next set of activities that they would be running through the church.
There would be a variety of sweets and sandwiches. Often those awesome pinwheel sandwiches that my mom still makes (I showed those another day) and this delicious take, on chicken salad.
My mom really struggled to think of what exactly was in it but she did remember celery and raisins. This was apparently a radical adaptation of chicken salad in a small town, in the ’50’s. My Gran would poach the chicken and then use the bones etc. for soup for the rest of the family. With nine kids she wasted nothing.

So put on a fancy hat and a pair of white gloves, here is a version of chicken salad that gets served in a puff pastry container. I’ve tarted it up even a bit more-just because but I’ve saved myself so much time poaching the chicken by starting with a rotisserie chicken.

If you really want to be fancy then you can call this Vol-au-vent au poulet.
That’s a bit over the top though.

Start with: a rotisserie chicken, a rib of celery, 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (a.k.a. pepitos, you can substitute sunflower seeds if you’d like), 1/4 cup hazelnuts (in some parts these are called filberts, you can have pecans instead if you’d like), 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 2 T. chopped parsley, salt (I’m using a lavendar and lemon sea salt because I happen to have it) and pepper.

Mix all together and
add enough mayonaise to bind (use the real stuff not the other and if you really want a medal make homemade).
Next, take frozen puff pastry (my Gran made her own, I only do this a few times a year-it’s really labour intensive so just buy it) and roll out to 1/4 inch thick.

Cut into the piece into four.
Using a knife, score the puff pastry so that it looks like a picture frame.
Bake on parchment paper (or a silicone sheet) for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Take out the centre when slightly cooled.
Scoop in the chicken salad and if you have been super careful you can add the tops back on.
For ladies in white gloves: you can make a mini version of this that will be just one bite. We tend to eat a little less daintily in our house.
To serve, make a nice green salad with a few roasted beets over the top and serve with that great Murray House dressing.
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