Greek Salad

I found this Greek salad recipe from the food blog Janet Is Hungry. Wow, it's so good!  I've been tossing it up with pasta or pizza ... but it can be made along with any kind of Italian or Greek food but pasta and pizza pretty much sums it up in our world. 

This homemade dressing is drinkable! It's so delicious and if you're like me, you have all the ingredients in your cupboard except maybe the Italian red wine vinegar -which is a very important ingredient! The longer the dressing sits after making it, the better flavor, so make ahead and keep at room temp for an hour before assembling salad. Pour the dressing over romaine lettuce, feta, kalamata olives, sliced red onion, cucumber and halved cherry tomatoes ... You won't go wrong!! 

All props to Janet for creating this salad dressing by accident - Thank you for sharing. ;) For a personal touch, I added cherry tomatoes and croutons for garnish (favorite salad ingredients around here). Those of you who are reading this will undoubtedly love this salad as much as we do ~ Please remember to post your comments, suggestions, variations or ideas! 

 * * * Recipe dedicated to April Marksbary ~ Congratulations new Mama! * * *

Greek Salad

1 large head Romaine Lettuce

1/2 half red onion, sliced
1 English Cucumber, sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives
1 cup Greek Feta, crumbled
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
*Croutons for garnish

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Mix dressing ingredients in a bottle and shake well. Set aside.

2. Rinse the lettuce heads and let drain upside down in your clean sink or on a towel before slicing (I use a salad spinner!). Place lettuce in a large bowl.
3. Add remaining veggies to top of lettuce and drizzle a couple spoonfuls of dressing per bowl.

ENJOY!!

Best Guacamole

This is my my family's favorite guacamole and by far my favorite thing to eat right now! It is a mixture of pretty green avos, sweet mangoes and a few other have-to-add-em-ins. I think you're going to love it too! 

It must be avocado week for my family because I've made this guac thee times in the past few days and every batch is devoured by my boys (except the one Chad and I ate in hiding while the boys watched a movie - he he he). Mmmmmm. 

Below, I will show you how to make it using a one-avocado-ratio. However, this is just a guide. When making larger batches you may need to alter it slightly. For example, I made a batch of guac using 6 avocados (for last nights enchilada party) but I only used 2 limes (instead of multiplying the recipe exactly and using 3 whole limes, it didn't make sense to use that many) You just have to taste as you go.

When buying avocados, be sure they aren't too hard nor too soft but probably shouldn't go finger pressing all the avos in the bin, hunting for just the right ones because they can be ruined for others later. This is what I do ... just barely squeeze the avo in your whole hand using very light pressure all around it and ever so slightly press in the stem ball. If it gives a little, it's ripe!  Btw, I am not a frequent organic avocado buyer bcuz they're too expensive. I usually just get the ones on sale or the cheapest in comparison - PLUS, I've heard that conventional avocados are ok to consume because the skin is so thick. Not sure if that's totally true but hey, I'm going with it.

Whole Foods just started selling these amazing Whole Trade Haitian mangoes that are out of this world! They burst with melt-in-your mouth, mango-y-ness flavor that reminds me of Hawaii and they go really well in this recipe! If you can't find them, grab any mango but make sure it's ripe ... and the sweeter the better. If fresh mangoes are not available, try frozen mango (thaw and mash first). 

Just remember to trust your instincts in  the kitchen ... so listen and have fun!

I love to hear from you!!


Best Guacamole*


1 avocado, halved
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lime
1/2 Roma tomato, diced
1/4 small red onion, finely diced
1/4 mango, diced (capturing the juices as you go)
2-3 sprigs of fresh cilantro, chopped`


1. Scoop the avocado out of its skin and place into a mixing bowl. Smash once or twice with a potato masher. 

2. Crush the garlic with the side of a wide chopping knife and remove the skin. Pour the salt onto the garlic and continue smashing and chopping until it becomes a paste. Add the garlic & salt paste to the avocado along with the juice of lime and mango. Smash the avo mixture once or twice more with the potato masher to incorporate.

3. Stir in the tomato, onion and cilantro and mix with a spoon. Add more salt to taste. 


Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.


*Share if you can. ;-) 

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, 

second to that is talking about eating. 

And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, 

there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking