It's summer time and growing up in FL (as I did) that meant lots of heat and humidity. We rarely used the oven after May. Many times they were picked up dinner from somewhere else or only used one or two burners on the electric stove, we weren't much into salads at that time.
Now that I am older, have some experience in the kitchen, and a wealth of recipes (thanks to my personal library and the public) I tend to lean toward the "salad" category once it gets hot.
I don't like the hot. I don't particularly like sweating either. Both almost unavoidable in FL and SoCal in the summertime. So I eat cold things, and do more chopping and marinading than I do baking and sauteing.
One of my creations came about recently in a heat wave of 90 degrees (yes I know not that hot as I sit here in triple digits). I wanted something greek like and I had just made a trip to my favorite spice store Penezys where I got their Greek Spice blend.
Have you ever tried Persian cucumbers? I recently discovered them, as I was never much of a cucumber fan I wrote them off. Man was I wrong to do that.
So delicately crunchy, sweet, and cooling. Throw in some feta, klamata olives and a basic vinaigrette and it's cooling, sweet and salty.
Recipe:
Four Persian Cucumbers, Quartered then sliced
2oz of Feta cheese crumbled
1/4 cup of pitted klamata olives chopped.
3 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons of White wine vinegar or fruity vinegar
1 teaspoon of a greek seasoning blend (oregano,
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
Mix vinaigrette first in a small bowl or shaker (like a small mason jar), pour over the chopped olive, feta and cucumbers. Try not to devour all at once, it's even better when allowed to chill in the fridge.
Enjoy,
Head Bather
