i confess, i'm a picky eater

I know, I should be ashamed of myself! But truth be told, I'm just not fond of some foods and I may even get a bit squeamish when push comes to shove. Sure, I've overcome many a food-dislike (believe it or not, I hated strawberries but now, I can't get enough of them!) When I was a kid, I would never dream of eating a tomato....and now I can almost say that I like that darn fruit (well, with very specific rigid guidelines in the care and preparation of said fruit). I wish I could give every fruit or vegetable or dish it's fair shake, but old habits die hard. Take the simple greek salad as an example. When I go to a Greek restaurant and it comes with my dish, I'll gladly eat the onions, olives, feta and green peppers, but I'll only peck at a cucumber or a tomato. I've already been won over with having tomatoes and cucumbers in sandwiches, but I'm still not keen on them appearing in my salads. But, ooooh, I love me a greek salad and sometimes modifications are necessary for the picky eater. Carrots replace tomatoes for colour and every colour pepper (not just green) go into my salad for sweetness and crunch. And while it may not be traditional, my mock "greek" salad has converted many a guest over the years. This salad is one of my favourites and nothing ever gets left on the plate but the olive pits. And that is a very, very good sign.

mock greek salad

1 red pepper, large dice
1 yellow pepper, large dice
1 green pepper, large dice
1 small red onion, large dice
2 carrots, cut into coins
1/2 c black kalmata olives
1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 T dijon mustard
1/4 t white sugar
1/4 t dried oregano
salt & pepper, to taste

1. Place the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Add in the olives and the feta and toss well.

2. Prepare the dressing. Mix together the olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, sugar, oregano, salt & pepper. Shake vigorously in a tightly lidded jar until fully blended. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Pour over salad and toss again.

This salad is best if left marinating for a couple of hours and served chilled, but it's also delicious served right away.

sunday freshness

After we finished dinner this evening, Cornelius turned to me and said, "We ate really well this weekend". So true. Everything we ate was fresh and didn't require extensive cooking or baking or heating. Our morning started off right with light and crispy waffles topped with fresh and juicy peaches. Since we had a relatively late breakfast, lunch wasn't necessary. Dinner was tomato and red onion and feta sandwiches (because everybody likes sandwiches, right?!) served with fresh refrigerator pickles and accompanied by some icy cold homemade lemonade. As for dessert, the previous night we worked up a sweat the old fashioned way as we whipped up a batch of homemade coffee ice cream with a touch of cinnamon, some roasted pecans and some dark chocolate shavings. Oh my!

I'm not sure if I'll post the ice cream recipe because I found it was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but the rest of my Sunday cooking adventure can be found below. Enjoy.

crispy waffles
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 c milk
1/4 c vanilla yogurt
2 T vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1 envelope of vanilla sugar

1. In a batter bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

2. Measure yogurt, milk and vegetable oil in a 2-cup measuring cup.

3. Whip up egg whites into soft peaks.

4. Beat egg white in a small bowl with an electric hand mixer to almost soft peaks. Sprinkle in sugar and continue to beat until white and glossy.

5. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Fold in egg white to batter in dollops. Fold in with a spatula until just incorporated.

6. Add batter to waffle irons and cook as usual. Serve with syrup or fresh peaches.

lemonade
1 c sugar
1 c water
1 1/4 c lemon juice (use fresh only! approximately 6-8 large lemons)

1. Create a sugar syrup by bringing water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add in lemon juice.

2. Pour into pitcher along with 4-5-6 cups of cold water. Add enough water to suit your tastes. I like a lot of water, so I usually fill up my pitcher with about 6 cups of water. Serve over lots of ice. Decorate with fresh mint, if desired.

refrigerator pickles
I spotted these refreshing pickles over at Kitchen Parade and decided that I'd start making some right away. It seemed like the most perfect summertime snack. Tangy and sweet and crispy fresh. I made these in the morning and ate almost a whole jar by the afternoon! What can I say, I love pickles! I made one batch according to Alanna's recipe (subbing the mustard & celery seeds and tumeric with dill, garlic and hot peppers since its' what I had on hand), but then decided to make a second version with different vegetables and different spices altogether. Both versions tasted great and I'll post my version here.

1 c white vinegar
1 c water
1 c white sugar
2 t pickling salt
1 long stick of cinnamon, broken into 3 peices
1 t hot peppers
3 cloves garlic
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 small red onion, cut into quarters
baby carrots

1. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, salt, water and sugar to the boiling point. Remove from heat. Add carrots to simmer in the hot liquid for 5 minutes.

2. Add green pepper, red onion and garlic and spices into a glass jar. Add carrots to the jar and pour in the hot liquid. Cap off jar and let cool before putting into the fridge.

Once you are finished the jar (and I've already polished off one), you can add more vegetables into the liquid. I've added in some radishes and yellow peppers for my next batch. This should keep for about 1 month in the fridge.

tomato sandwich with lemony-feta spread
I like my sandwiches with a bit of a bite. If you want a fresher taste, then you can skip marinating the tomatoes and onion in the vinegar and just add them fresh to the sandwich.

Please note Cornelius' lovely handmodeling duties!

2 red + ripe tomatoes
1/2 red onion
2 T red wine vinegar
handful of fresh basil, torn
1/2 avocado, sliced
romaine lettuce
1 small block of feta cheese
1 T olive oil
1/2 c parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced & zested
salt + pepper
good bread, toasted

1. Cut tomatoes and onions into slices. Place in a shallow bowl and drizzle with vinegar and add some salt & pepper over top. Tear some fresh basil over top and marinate for 30 minutes. You can skip this step if you don't like a tangy sandwich!

2. In a small bowl, mash together the feta, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley together.

3. Toast the bread. Add feta mixture to one slice and mash avocado on the other slice. Add tomatoes and red onions and lettuce to the feta side and cover with the avocado side. Add salt & pepper if necessary.

Serve with fresh refrigerator pickles.