Feta fresh salad

 Hello, everyone! The Fresh Pioneer is back and it is still HOT. I'm not really melting anymore, but I sure don't want to cook. I want to eat, mind you, just not cook. So, what's a hungry girl to do?
Let's see what we can rustle up!


Now, when I was 14 I decided I was going to go live in France. Don't ask me why. But now we live here, and are starving for dinner, so let's see what we can find. Now, since I moved to that lovely country right after I turned 15 (merci, Maman!), I have a deep and abiding love for STINKY CHEESE and usually have some on hand.

Well, looky here! Feta!

Not French, but close enough. And it comes in low fat varieties.

 So, let's make sure it's not date night, or your 25th wedding anniversary, or even a night when your husband might ask you to go sit under the stars and chat.

No? Excellent.

 Let's eat some STINKY CHEESE.

We reach in the cupboard and pull out this bottle of balsamic vinaigrette. Who knows why it was there. It must have been waiting for this exact moment all its life. If you don't care for all the stuff they put in these dressings. you can make your own dressing for this dish with balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and some olive oil.

Now, the original recipe calls for pasta or white bread toasted, or (*sob*) crusty French bread, but we're going to put in a little more fiber to the dish to balance out the olive oil.

Here is some bread my husband refers to as 'nuts and twigs'. It has double the fiber and lots of flax seed which is good for... memory? I honestly can't remember. (Okay, I Googled. It's good for your HEART. Thank goodness. If it was for my memory, I'd want my money back.)

You can use 12 grain or even just whole wheat. It adds a nice, nutty flavor. Toast and cube.

At this point we're going to start cutting our fresh ingredients.

Tomatoes, a little sweet onion (they were free, let's use them!), basil, cucumbers (more free produce!), and whatever other fresh veggie you'd like to put in. Maybe some pretty yellow bell peppers?

 

Mix the feta in with the fresh ingredients. Add several tbs of the vinaigrette. Toss to coat. Put your cubed, toasted, nutty, high fiber grainy bread in the bottom of the bowl and toss on the feta salad mix. 

However you want to make it, add a little lime and some yoghurt to the side and you've got a super fresh, super tasty, no-cook dish.

Just don't go breathe on anybody.

 

(That's me on the left. My non-feta eating hubby on the right. Doesn't he look thrilled? Mmmmm. Revenge for all that cilantro.)

Hope you all are staying cool! Until next time!

Hobby Farms, Greenhouses, and Strawberry Feta Salad

Hello, everybody!

Here's my ten year old being smothered by our old cat. Don't worry; he was rescued!

I was researching and went to visit a little hobby farm near us. We live surrounded by real farms of hundreds of acres but I wanted to see a small farm run by people who have day jobs. It was so much fun!

The owner's husband made her this greenhouse from recycle materials. The windows came from an old school. I grew up in a house that had a large green house attached to the main house and just the smell brought me right back!

Edward said we needed one  and I agree! I spent hours and hours tending African violets and other miniature plants in my "special area" of my childhood greenhouse.

The builder even salvaged a pulley system from an abandoned mill. He rigged it to open an close the windows in the roof. The greenhouse I grew up with was automated (push a button, things open or close) and it was really neat to see this old-fashioned way of providing ventilation.

They had such lovely little raised beds. Nothing like our wild garden! Frog Hollow Farms (the name of this little place) also sold fresh bread, goat cheese, and cinnamon rolls. You can imagine that besides our heirloom tomatoes and other plants, we also came home with some tasty goodies.

Our garden is in full bloom and I can't help it. I have to share. One of our clematis.

My favorite rose. It smells delicious!

We have about ten bushes of these. They were here when we moved in almost fifteen years ago and have only gotten more beautiful.

Some of our peonies have opened but the later variety are so pretty when they are just beginning to bud.

One proud seven year old in the strawberry patch he's tended all spring.

The very proud five year old with his heirloom pineberries... these guys are mostly white with red seeds and taste like pineapple. They used to be very hard to find in the US but they've gotten more and more common in the last few years.

This is my amethyst basil plant. Isn't it pretty?? I love all kinds of basil but this one makes a beautiful pesto.

Ordinary strawberry.... if there ever was an "ordinary", sun-ripened, perfect berry from the garden!

And the grape vines don't look too impressive but I'm SOOOOO excited.

Because this--

Will soon become this!

Now, in honor of our very first strawberries, I'd like to share a salad that probably has been done before. I don't have any of my own pictures because I always remember AFTER I've eaten it, but this is a good spring salad that celebrates what's local and fresh!

(spontaneoustomato.com)

Sweet berries, goat cheese, pine nuts, fresh baby spinach, and a little balsamic vinegar makes a perfectly refreshing lunch!