Watermelon and Feta Salad

There are a lot of recipes online for watermelon and feta salad. I found one from Giada De Laurentiis, another one from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, and yet another from Paula Deen. Of course, my online friend from Toronto, Peter, has a great recipe as well.

I combined watermelon, feta cheese, red onion and mint leaves from my garden with a dressing of lemon juice and honey. It’s simple and delicious. Try it. You’ll be surprised how really good these combination of flavors are. Let me know if you do make this salad and how it turns out. I like feedback!

Fruit Salad in July

Who doesn’t like a fruit salad? The weather has been really hot with a heat advisory on almost half of the country. I don’t really feel like cooking or eating much on days as hot as this, but a nice cold fruit salad is just the thing I enjoy.

I started with kiwis. They are a little labor intensive, but I try to get into the “zen” of peeling these furry little fruits.

 I love the tartness and the color of kiwis.

 Next come the strawberries, I trim off the green leafy tops…

…and then I quarter them.

Green grapes are easy, just pluck them off their stems.

Blueberries require nothing but a quick rinse.

I serve my fruit salad with classic yogurt mixed with honey.

My fruit salad is also photo set on Flickr. What are your favorite fruits to mix in a salad?

A Happy Father’s Day – 2011

We had a wonderful Father’s Day. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. My last few posts have been about family occasions. I guess that is because, for me, family and good food always go together. I like little glimpses into people’s happy lives and I hope you enjoy mine too.

The menu was grilled pork loin and several summer salads, including my “infamous” potato salad and fruit salad. I also tried a brand new recipe for a salad with arugula and fennel.

In my last post I told you about the nice package I received from the T. Marzetti Company. I decided to try their Arugula Pomegranate Salad recipe with their Simply Dressed Pomegranate Salad Dressing for our Father’s Day BBQ. I substituted dried cranberries for the pomegranate seeds. I skipped the goat cheese part and just served it as a tossed salad, family style. It turned out great and everyone loved it.

The grilled pork loin was in a garlic rosemary marinade for about 4 hours. I substituted Thai fish sauce for the oyster sauce and dried chili powder for the chipotle chile sauce. It was delicious.

My grandson, Benjamin, loved the pork and managed to chew it with all of his five teeth while repeating “Yiayia”. Quite a feat for a 16 month old! It was a great day. Hope yours was too. To all the Dad’s and Granddad’s out there, Happy Father’s Day!

 

Recipe of the week: Beet salad

Today I made a big salad for dinner based totally on an intuitive craving. It tasted great. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
1 can of garbanzo beans – rinsed & drained
1 can of sliced beets – rinsed & drained
1 red onion – sliced
1/4 lb of feta cheese – crumbled
I used Mt Vikos sheep and goats milk blend.
1 head of boston leaf lettuce – rinsed & spun, then torn by hand
I used Mirabel hydroponic lettuce.
My Greek salad dressing
Mix, toss…
Delicious!
Enjoy!

Beet Salad
Beet Salad