Greek Salad

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there and especially to mine and my mother in law. I was able to spend the day with my mom the other day as the family enjoyed a casual bbq. Today I will be heading to Major Hills Park with the in laws to peruse the tulip festival and then head to the byward market to hit a patio for lunch and see what the fresh market is offering this May.

For the BBQ I made one of my favorite summer salads - greek salad. I just love the taste of feta & kalmata olives mixed with fresh vegetables. This particular picture unfortunately was taken the day after so the tomatoes are not as fresh looking as they were when first made. The salad should be eaten the same day as it does not keep that well. When making you can prepare the salad hours in advance and place in the fridge, but wait until 30 min before serving to add the dressing. This should be enough to let the dressing absorb into the tomatoes and cucumbers but not too long to let it get soggy.

6 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1 red onion, cut into thin rings
1 green pepper, chopped into large chunks
1 large cucumbers, sliced into half moon
1 cup kalmata olives
6 oz low sodium feta cheese, cut into small cubes
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. Garnish with a little freshly ground black pepper. Again it keeps only for a day or two max in the fridge, so best prepared fresh.