By Spring. The house is full. Two kids, two parents, one kitchen, four bedrooms (master, Tommy's, nursery, and the room I use as a home office where the Helen's notebook lives alongside brewing books and a laptop with approximately six thousand open tabs about small business loans). The house that felt too big when we moved in now feels exactly right. Right-sized for a family that is complete — or almost complete. Megan wants three. I want "however many you want." The conversation is ongoing.
Ellie is two months old. She smiles. The first real smile happened while I was holding her in the kitchen and she was looking at the window — the window over the sink, the window Babcia would have loved — and the light hit her face and she smiled. Not gas. Not a reflex. A smile. At the window. At the light. At the world. I cried. Kowalski men cry now. At baby smiles. At kitchen windows. At everything. The evolution is complete.
At the brewery, the rhubarb sour is back for year three. The taproom is busy. The distribution has expanded — we're in bars across Milwaukee now, not just the taproom. The sour program I started five years ago is now a significant revenue stream for the brewery. The owner shook my hand and said, "You built something." He's right. I built something. At the brewery and at home. I build things. That's what Kowalski men do.
Made a grilled chicken salad for dinner because spring needs something green and light and Megan is tired of heavy food and two-month-old babies demand that their mothers eat well. Grilled chicken, arugula, strawberries, goat cheese, walnuts, balsamic. Simple. Fresh. The meal that says "winter is over."
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
Ellie smiled at the window, and I needed to make something that matched that feeling — something that wasn’t soup, wasn’t a braise, wasn’t the heavy rotation we’d been running since October. Megan needed it, too. New mothers eating well is non-negotiable, and after six months of Midwestern winter comfort food, this grilled chicken and strawberry salad was the reset we both wanted. It’s the kind of meal that doesn’t ask much of you and gives everything back.
Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb total)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups baby arugula
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/3 cup walnut halves, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the grill. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season both sides with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Grill the chicken. Cook chicken for 5–6 minutes per side, until internal temperature reaches 165°F and grill marks are set. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes, then slice thin on the bias.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the salad. Spread arugula across a large serving platter or divide among four bowls. Top with sliced strawberries, grilled chicken, crumbled goat cheese, and walnuts.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle dressing over the salad just before serving. Toss gently or serve undressed on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 380mg