Greek Salad

I know it's another boring salad recipe, but the vinaigrette in this one makes my taste buds say it's good to be alive. Plus my garden lettuces are going nuts and as discussed, my house is way too hot. This is a salad with more chunks than lettuce, and tastes super fresh because of the cucumber.

A bunch of leafy (not iceberg) lettuce, washed and torn into bits
1/4 to 1/2 of a cucumber, sliced thick then quartered into bite sized pieces
2 Roma tomatoes cut in half slices
1/4 small red onion cut in skinny, skinny slices
olives of your choosing
fresh basil or oregano
1/4 C feta
a couple of glugs of good olive oil
a couple of glugs of red wine vinegar
coarse salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together and taste. Adjust oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, or feta to preference. Serve immediately.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

I think there is a sad lack of seafood on this blog. I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was pretty good! Very healthy, too. So, if you're looking for a good way to use up some regular canned tuna, this maybe for you. (I actually think this would be delicious with a grilled tuna steak or some other type of fish as well...)

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 celery ribs, chopped

1 small sweet red pepper, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

2 T. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. spicy brown mustard

1/2 t. dried basil

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 cans water packed tuna

lettuce

1/2 c. crumbled feta

In a large bowl, combine the beans, celery, red pepper, and onions. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, basil, salt, and pepper. Pour over bean mixture; toss to coat. Gently stir in tuna. Serve over lettuce, with feta sprinkled on top.

Nutrition facts: 1 1/2 c. tuna salad with 1 c. lettuce equals 282 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 30 mg cholesterol, 682 mg sodium, 23 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 23 g protein. (calculated w/o cheese!)

The garbanzo beans in this salad add 4 g fiber and boost protein by a full 4 g per serving. Pretty awesome.

Note: I wish I had had some pita bread to eat with it on the side. I love me some pita bread. :)

Tomato Feta Basil Pasta Salad

I have long associated pasta salads with the soggy, mayo drenched affairs seen at church barbecues. Furthermore, I never understood the reasoning behind cold pasta. Why have pasta cold when it is so very delicious hot?

This was before I moved to a place with no air conditioning. Yesterday it was 88 degrees in my house, and there was no way in this apt simulation of hell that I was going to turn on the stove, oven, toaster or any heat-emitting device. In the middle of the night, when with all the windows open and fans blasting the house had chilled to a comfortable 75 degrees, I mass produced cooked pasta, meat, and rice so today I could pull them out of the fridge to make oddities such as pasta salad.

Steering clear of mayo, I made this baby with stuff I had laying around. It's fresh and light and totally fulfilling. Give it a try!

3/4 lb cooked whole wheat penne pasta, cooled (DO NOT over cook--if refrigerating overnight, knock a couple minutes off the cook time)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 C feta cheese, crumbled (or to taste)
1/2 C sun dried tomatoes in oil (thank you, Costco)
Big bunch of basil, sliced in to ribbons (thank you, garden)
1 TBS good olive oil
1 TBS good balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Toss ingredients together and serve.