I have a dream.  To live on the side of a Greek island overlooking the beautiful sea, where I can walk or bike all over the town making stops at market stalls to buy fresh produce and seafood all year long.  The ocean waves would lull me to sleep at every night.

Maybe in another life.  For today, I’ll have to pacify myself by making My Favorite Greek Salad.  Probably not authentic, but close enough for me.  This salad is so very easy, but so very delicious, and perfect as a main course or appetizer size before a meal.

My Favorite Greek Salad

from Shortbread

serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• large pinch kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 10 cups romaine lettuce, chopped, washed and dried
• 1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium cucumber, chopped into large chunks
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives
• 1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 8-12 pepperoncini peppers

Directions

1. In a large salad bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste.  Whisk with a fork or small whisk until combined.
2. Add remaining ingredients except pepperoncini peppers to the bowl and toss with hands or salad servers.
3. Divide salad between bowls and serve with peppers on the side. Top with additional black pepper, if desired.

PRINTER FRIENDLY RECIPE

What a thrill.  This Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook definitely shook things up in my kitchen.  I love a recipe that makes you say “Hmm, I never would have thought of using _____ that way.”

The thing that I found to be surprising is the use of capers blended into the pasta dressing.  I’ve added whole capers to dishes before, but have never seen or thought to process them in with other ingredients.  What fun.  The dressing is made by adding sun-dried tomatoes and capers to a vinaigrette mixture and processing it to make a very flavorful sauce for pasta, tomatoes, cheese, olives and basil.

I was also thrilled to find that this recipe is one that lends itself well to substitutions made out of certain necessities (e.g., forgetting your grocery list).  I used some short pasta from my pantry, re-constituted dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, and substituted feta cheese for the mozzarella.  I adore fresh mozzarella, and will use it the next time I make this, but the feta cheese was delicious, too.

Thanks to Delta Whiskey and the Barefoot Bloggers, I discovered a new way to use yummy capers – a trick I will be sure to use in other recipes.  To make this pasta yourself, just click on Food Network for the recipe.

]]> http://shortbreadsouth.com/2009/07/09/things-that-make-you-go-hmm-pasta-with-sun-dried-tomatoes/feed/ 3 http://shortbreadsouth.com/2009/06/19/barefoot-bloggers-curried-couscous/ http://shortbreadsouth.com/2009/06/19/barefoot-bloggers-curried-couscous/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:40:41 +0000 shortbreadsouth http://shortbreadsouth.com/?p=589

If I had a million dollars, I would first hire a cleaning lady, then I would hire a personal chef to prepare healthy, flavorful meals for us every day.  I would still cook and bake at leisure, but the rest of the time I could choose recipes with my chef that he/she could prepare, like this Curried Couscous from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

Because as much as I enjoy cooking and baking, I enjoy eating really fresh and tasty meals just as much or more.  I just don’t always have the time or energy to prep, cook, and clean up for every meal.  That means the kids get cereal for breakfast before school most days, Fridays are pizza delivery nights, and my lunch sometimes consists of a leftover piece of said pizza.

Until we win the lottery, though, I do try as often as possible to prepare healthy meals at home for the family that include a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits and grains.  And I like to put a little effort into making a healthy lunch for myself, too.  That’s what I did with this Barefoot Bloggers recipe, chosen by Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester.  Using some couscous prepared the night before for dinner, I mixed up this salad for my lunch, and it was delicious.  Freshness from the yogurt, with sweet and spicy curry flavors mixed with the vegetables, raisins, and nuts made this couscous extra flavorful.  I substituted cilantro for the parsley and it tasted great.

Of course you can change this recipe up in a variety of ways, just use what’s in your fridge and your imagination.  The original recipe can be found here.