Greek Oregano Feta Salad

Hi knitters,

It's true, the last past on this blog was dated Feb 28, 2011.  Which is pitiful.  Think about those 18 months of lost crafty details, wash!  But here I am back from the silence.

In knitting / crafting, I took some great classes recently - cotton spinning and grass twined basketry at the Conference of Northern California Handweavers and Carin Engen's Nuno Felted Scarves class at Yarn Dogs.  I'll link some photos here so I can record the awesomeness of the felted scarf class, but this post is about food.

Bill and I are enjoying a "Summer of Fruit", harvesting  harvesting apricots, blackberries, cherries and blueberries from a friend's yard over the past two weeks.  One of the "extras" we've been able to gather from our friend is an amazingly soft, fresh, abundant oregano.   We use it to make our favorite Greek Oregano Feta Salad, per the recipe from chef Jonathan from the old Two Small Farms newsletter.

So this post is prompted by my need to record the salad recipe for my own future reference, and also to share with Jasmine.  Here goes:

Greek Oregano Feta Salad, from Chef Jonathan 

from the Two Small Farms newsletter, 6/10/09

Here's a very simple Greek salad idea - and do take the time to ice your red onions.  You'll be shocked how delicious they turn out.  Thinly slice half a red onion and put it in a bowl of ice water.  Set aside while you make the rest of the salad.  A simple vinaigrette goes like this: juice of 1 lemon, a few splashes of white wine vinegar, a tablespoon of minced shallot, a bit of chopped oregano, salt and pepper.  Mix those ingredients, then whisk in some Greek olive oil until you achieve the balance you prefer. Check again for salt and pepper.  Toss your torn or chopped romaine with a little bit of dressing then top the salad with your drained red onion, some kalamata olives, more oregano (whole leaves at this point), some feta (in whole slices or crumbled), and if you can find cucumbers or tomatoes now, add them too. Yummy!

We're eating this salad tonight for the third time in ten days, thanks to the Summer of Fruit. I am still in love with the way the lemon, oregano, and feta turn an ordinary romaine salad into a fantastic summer treat.

More blogging to come, assuming i can get back on this horse.  Happy knitting, everyone.