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. :)

Thai-style Black Bean Salad

Friends, friends, friends. Seriously. I made this salad tonight before mutual, let it refrigerate for about 2 hours (okay, 1 hour, because Mark got it out of the fridge at 7 and forgot about it...), then tried some, and I couldn't wait to post it on here for your viewing (& eating) pleasure. So good!! And so healthy. I got the brilliant idea to eat mine with tortilla chips and it was a perfect match. Here goes:

1 c. frozen corn

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

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery rib, sliced thin

1 small sweet red pepper, chopped

1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine

2 T. sesame oil

1 T. rice vinegar

1 T. lime juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. minced fresh gingerroot

1/2 t. salt

Modifications: I doubled it, but left out the celery and jalapeno, and only used 1 medium red pepper instead of 2 small ones.

Directions: heat frozen corn according to package directions. Add beans, onion, celery, peppers, and cilantro. In a small bowl whisk together the last 6 ingredients. Pour over bean mixture and mix to coat. Chill for at least one hour to allow the flavors to marry.

Hallelujah for this recipe. It really hit the spot for me tonight! I hope you will try it.

Thai Grapefruit Salad

The flavor combinations seems like they should be so wrong, but they are just so right! Salty, sweet, tangy, and a little spicy: all the things I love about Thai food. Very refreshing!

Thai Grapefruit Salad

2 c. bite-sized chunks of peeled grapefruit
1/4 c. shredded coconut
3 Tbsp. crushed salted roasted peanuts
1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (no, really . . . use the fish sauce!)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots
1/2 tsp. dried red chili flakes

Peel the grapefruit and put into a bowl. You can cut out the sections with a knife if you like, but the big red grapefruit that are fairly easy to peel work best. Toast the coconut until lightly brown and a little crispy in small pan on medium heat and set aside in a bowl. Crush the peanuts and set aside. Chop the mint and set aside. Mix the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, shallots, and chile flakes in a bowl. Use small bowls or cups for serving the salad. Just prior to serving, drain off the excess juice from the grapefruit and pour in the lime juice mixture and chopped mint and stir well. Scoop into bowls/cups and sprinkle the toasted coconut and crushed nuts over the top.

We find that the timing is important. Get everything ready and do the last bit of mixing right before you eat the salad. If you mix it too soon, the mint goes limp and the coconut and peanuts get soggy.

The quantities shown above make about four servings.