I recently had a long and thoughtful conversation with a fellow “food blogger.” *I will start by saying I don’t even consider myself a food blogger, I am just a woman who cooks a lot and has a food blog for her family and friends to cook along with. 

Anywho, this conversation was around recipe ownership. There are millions of recipes in the world and yet, if you look closely, you’ll notice they are variations of the same. So how does one respectfully share a recipe they make often without being accused of blatantly stealing someone else’s? Aren’t we all inspired by other’s recipes? Just because it was written in grandma’s recipe book, doesn’t mean she didn’t rip it out of a magazine or jot down a recipe from another cookbook… You could add one new ingredient or make a slight variation of process, but isn’t the same basic ingredient list? 

I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think the answer is twofold: give credit to who inspires you and think about the intention behind it. I would be pissed if I was an Instagram influencer and someone ripped my recipe word for word for the benefit of gaining more followers or making a profit off my hard work. But I would also be flattered if someone found my recipe and shared it to their small pocket of the world, simply for the benefit of sharing a recipe they love with their people. 

So this is one of those recipes. The basis ingredients of the salad dressing are from a favorite influencer Carissa of BroccYourBody, but the toppings vary based on my preferences and the measurements adjusted to my liking… And now social media has shown me hundreds of iterations of this Fall Harvest bowl, muddling who the first creator is or who should own the “IP” to this recipe. So I will say Carissa made it years ago, I saved it, tried it, and have made it a dozen times since. Go check her out, and definitely try this one out.

I literally want to sip the dressing like it’s soup. It’s not too sweet, full of fall flavors, extremely filling, and very photogenic!

INGREDIENTS

Dressing –

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup dijon mustard

2 tbsp. maple syrup

8-10 sage leaves

4 garlic cloves

Dash of salt, pepper, and red chili flakes

Salad Toppings – 

Mixed greens

Sweet Potato (cubed & roasted)

Honeycrisp Apple

Candied Pecans

White Cheddar Cheese (goat is my fave right now!)

Chicken Breast

Serving Size: 4-6

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. 
• Prepare toppings:
  • Roast cubed sweet potato with olive oil, salt & pepper at 400F for 30mins.
  • Cut apple into thin sticks (skin on!).
  • Cube cheese.
  • Bake, pan fry, or grill chicken with salt & pepper.
• Assemble salad and enjoy!