Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad


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IMG_2820Summer is FINALLY here!! That’s right, ladies and gents, the Pacific Northwest finally has consistent sunshine! With the change of the weather, comes the change of the taste buds. I trade my warming winter ratatouille  and warming  cast-iron portions of delicious steaming cassoulet for the lighter summer fare like the Cilantro Lime Chicken & Baked Potato Skins I made for dinner TWO nights in a row (yes, they are THAT good and SO simple).

A few of my other “go to” summer meals are:
Hawaiian Poke & Ginger Ono Sashimi
Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Asparagus
Healthy Chicken Veggie Spring Rolls with Garlic Ginger Dipping Sauce

This year I needed a new salad, something that was out of my normal cooking pallet. I’ve had different variations of this type of salad (Fez on Wheels Turkish Shepherd Salad, and Tom Douglas’ Home Remedy Jackie’s Greek Salad are two of my favorites) and decided it was time to make it myself.

Of course, after I used the “wing it” approach I realized that looking for a recipe could have been smart idea. Psh, who needs a recipe when you have a photo of the ingredients and taste testing! Next time I WONT forget the mint or the fresh lemon juice. The Epicruious version called for scallions instead of the red pepper and the Simply Recipes version called for 1 tsp fresh chopped oregano.  There is also a more italian style version that A Taste of Home posted with mozzarella that I’ll be trying next week! Whatever the variations you use,  it’s even better than next day once the flavors marinate together for a while. Also makes a great potluck or BBQ side!

Do you have any special additions or variations of this delicious dish? Next time I’m thinking I’ll add some quinoa!

IMG_2814Ingredients
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice
fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste
drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 large cucumbers, peeled and seeded
cherry tomatoes (to taste), washed and halved
1/2 c chopped fresh mint, Chiffonade
7 oz fresh sheep feta, crumbled
1 cup pitted halved Kalamata olives

IMG_2816Directions

To make the dressing, mix the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, cracked pepper and drizzle of EVOO to a small bowl and whisk together then set aside. If you have a jar, you can also just add the ingredients and shake the living heck out of the ingredients to mix. Wash and half the cucumbers, then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the center then slice and place in a medium bowl. Add olives. Wash and half the tomatoes and add them to the cucumber bowl. Rinse and pat the mint dry, then  Chiffonade it. That’s a fancy little french term for stacking herb leaves on top of each other than tightly rolling them and cutting horizontally to produce long thin strips. Add the dressing to the cucumber bowl and toss lightly, sprinkling in the feta and tossing all the goodness together. Serve as a main with some humus and pita bread, or as a delicious side!

Enjoy!

The Moscow Mule…with a Sherpa Twist!

We can’t remember where we first experienced this wonderful, refreshing and tasteful drink that has blessed our lives, but I hope that this post will inspire a first encounter for you!

Seeking to do something extra special for date night I decided that we needed to spend a fun night in, which was also better on our budget, and decided to make what turned out to be a most incredible dinner! Our menu was planned solely around the drinks like any cocktail menu should and after much debate and recipe searching I settled on writing a recipe for Cilantro Lime Skewers & “whinging” the compilation of some loaded Potato Skins (recipe here). We splurged and got the traditional Copper serving Mugs for the Mule’s because, life is short and really… is there really ANY other way to drink these!?

I mastered the kitchen side while I instructed my faithful sous chef to play bartender and he whipped us up a pair of wonderful drinks!! According to Wikipedia, “the cocktail was invented in 1941 John “Jack” Morgan, President of Cock ‘n’ Bull Products & an East Coast spirits and food distributor.”

The smell of the fresh squeezed lime and the aroma of mint overtook the kitchen and I couldn’t help by peek over his should and snap a few pictures (staged to perfection of course!) while he concocted our libations. They turned out marvelous and just when I thought we’d reached the utmost perfection after the third sip, my bartender grabbed my mug and added his own little twist to the drink: a splash of Sailor Jerry Rum. Well now, ladies and gentlemen, this was the game changer. This is now an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT DRINK! Okay, maybe not that dramatic of a change but it warranted a new name and we decided on the Summer Sherpa. There is a story behind this but I think I might loose you if I dive into it to much. For now, let’s just all grab a Summer Sherpa and talk about good times and great oldies! (And the hope of summer where we can be sipping these on the roof.. okay there’s half the story behind the name! 🙂

On a side note for ingredients, we LOVE the Crater Lake Vodka and Gin; it’s SO smooth! I would highly recommend that you stock your pantry with this wonderful Vodka, but truly any Vodka will work for this recipe. This go around was preparation for what will be many nights of enjoyment up on the roof this summer, sipping Moscow Mule’s out of our fancy copper cups!

Moscow Mule
Ingredients for single drink

Directions

  1. Squeeze lime into copper mug (and if you’d like you can drop in half lime

  2. Add 2 or 3 large ice cubes, then pour in the Crater Lake Vodka

  3. Fill with cold ginger beer (optional Sailor Jerry Rum added here) and garnish with a fresh lime and a few springs of mint

  4. Enjoy your wonderful drink!

 

 

 

 

 

Once you make the recipe, I’d love to see your pictures, hear your personalization flares, and read what menu’s you created to accompany this wonderfully refreshing drink!