This herbed chicken salad is one of my favorite creations.  And that is saying something, because as a child I hated chicken salad with a passion.  Perhaps it was the nasty soybean oil in the storebought mayonnaise, or that I could sense the chicken wasn’t quite right since it was from a factory and not a field.  But whatever the reason, my loyalties have been shifted by making a real chicken salad.  I have been won over by this herbalicious creation!

I happen to have several herbs growing in pots on the back patio.  In fact, I have so many that I can’t leave any out in this recipe.  So when I say that it is “herbed”, I mean it.  If you want to do a little less, make sure you at least get the tarragon and thyme into the mix.  Those are the essential herbs that really make this chicken salad really something.

It is really the best tasting with freshly made mayonnaise.  I will be posting a recipe for it later this week.  You can buy mayonnaise, but please find a real version that uses whole foods (you can find a good mayonnaise here).  The healthy, raw, probiotic fats in the mayonnaise make a nourishing base for this recipe when mixed with sour cream.  If you are lucky enough to have access to raw cream, then you can even make your own sour cream this recipe turns into something really special!

But really, just do the best you can with the ingredients you can find.  Making food at home is supposed to be nourishing, which requires effort to find the best ingredients you can.  But it should also be enjoyable.  Be kind to yourself, and enjoy the fruits of your labor, whatever they may be.  Savor your food, live in the moment, take care of yourself.

Herbed Chicken Salad with Pecans

1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade (learn how to make mayonnaise here) (buy good mayonnaise here)
1/2 cup sour cream (buy sour cream starters here)
two handfuls fresh parsley, finely chopped
one handful fresh tarragon, finely chopped
one handful fresh thyme, finely chopped
small handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
several sage leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste (buy unrefined sea salt here)
2 dill pickles, rchopped, preferably lacto-fermented (buy lacto-fermented pickles here)
4 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes (buy pastured chickens here)
1 cup of pecans, chopped (see how to soak and dehydrate nuts here)
1 cup grapes, cut in half
romaine lettuce leaves

1. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise and sour cream until well blended.  Add parsley, tarragon, thyme, dill and sage.  Combine well.  Add chopped dill pickles and combine.
2. Add the bulkier items to the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture: chicken, pecans, and grapes.  Stir gently to combine.
3. Scoop onto lettuce leaves and serve as a lettuce wrap.  Yum!