26 May 2012

Time for salad



O time, how hard it is to steal a minute from you; how easy to lose track of you; how profound the changes you bring.


Yesterday there was a patch of dirt beside our building, today there are flowers!  "Yesterday" being a little more figurative than I care to let on, but the point remains.  Pure magic!  At least, it's magic to my 3 year old son.  To him, time doesn't exist.  One minute there was bare dirt and then *POOF* flowers appeared!  He still has trouble understanding the words "late", or "bedtime", or "dinner-time".  Perhaps he'll catch on in time?  (No pun intended...)




Amid the passing moments of spring, I find myself irresistibly drawn to salad.  Oh light, crispy, vinegrette-y salad, let me count the ways I love thee!  Indeed, I've always loved salads.  When I was pregnant with M, the only consistent craving I had was for Greek salad.  I do enjoy ranch-dressed salads every now and then, but I prefer the tart bite of acid.  There's something about the way that tang hits my tongue that makes me feel so vigorously alive!  Greek salad gives that along with the creamy from the feta.  (If there's one thing I love as much as salad, it's cheese!)  But what I love most about salads is the fact that they require so little time.  You may not have time to shorten your to-do list, but there's ALWAYS enough time to make a salad.  Shred some lettuce, slice up a few accompaniments, throw on any leftovers like corn, chicken, cheese, raisins, etc and you have gastronomical genius!  



I'm leaving behind my little rendition of a creamy, feta-laden Greek salad.  (Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my face.)  I must warn you that I will probably post quite a few salad recipes.  Why tonight we're having a crunchy coleslaw for dinner.  Yes, my friends, life is good, and salad is such a wonderful part of that goodness.




GREEK SALAD 

300g Greek feta cheese
1 head romaine lettuce
1/2 English cucumber, peeled
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2 small spanish onion (optional)

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)


Mix the dressing ingredients together in a glass bottle or jar.  Wash and shred lettuce in a large bowl.  Cut cucumber and tomatoes into bite-sized chunks and add to lettuce.  Slice up onion into slivers and add to lettuce.  Crumble feta over the salad bowl.  Shake dressing well and drizzle lightly over salad until each leaf is well coated.  Don't use too much dressing or salad will be soggy.  Store the remaining dressing in the fridge for round II.  


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