Chicken Farro Salad

The warm weather has finally arrived. To celebrate I tossed up this chicken salad with farro. It keeps good in the refrigerator and is best eaten just warm or cold, which is perfect for this time of year. It's also great to pack in my lunch. This chicken is marinated and the salad is tossed in my Greek dressing, but you could also use your favorite bottled dressing in place of mine.

Chicken Farro Salad
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 1/3 cup Greek salad dressing
1 cup semipearled farro
1/4 cup moist dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
zest of one lemon

Marinate the chicken in 1 cup of Greek dressing for at least two hours. Grill chicken and cut into bit size pieces. Chop dried tomatoes and mix in bowl with almonds, garlic, pepper, seasonings, lemon zest and chicken. Set aside. In a saucepan, bring two cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil and add farro. Cover and turn down to low to simmer for about 20 minutes. Farro should be chewy when done. Drain excess water if any, and toss into chicken mixture. Add 1/3 cup Greek dressing and chopped Romaine lettuce. Serve warm. Garnish with feta cheese.

Greek Dressing
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Turkish oregano

Combine ingredients in a jar and shake thoroughly. Allow the dressing to sit at least a day before using.

Tabbouleh

I have been searching for healthy and filling meals to pack in my little red lunch bag for work. Picking a recipe for lunch is an art in itself. Too heavy and I will be staring off into space instead of keeping production and using that brain. Too light and I will be furtively searching through my drawers for something chocolaty to tame the munchies. This tasty salad seemed to be the perfect choice.

Tabbouleh
1 cup water
1/2 cup whole grain bulgur
zest and juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 scallions, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 7-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Boil water and pour over bulgur and let sit until water is absorbed and bulgur is cooled. In a small bowl combine lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, garlic and seasonings mix. Pour over cool bulgur and add vegetables and toss. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a nice whole wheat pita.

Greek Salad

Horiatiki
Last week I took a vacation to the beautiful state of Virginia to see all sorts of places. Our first two nights were spent in Charlottesville. One evening after a long day of sightseeing we went to the local shopping plaza in search of something yummy to snack on. We happened upon Mykonos Cafe and dined on a delicious Greek salad and cucumbers dipped in hummus. It was a yummy meze treat. And I am hooked. My mouth waters at the thought of crispy greens and cucumbers tossed with feta. Oh my! I couldn't help trying my own version.

Greek Salad
Fresh crisp Romaine lettuce or any variety of greens
English cucumbers diced
Kalamata olives
Red onions, sliced
Fresh grape tomatoes
Feta cheese packed in brine

Combine the greens, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions with some of the Greek dressing (recipe below) and toss to coat all of the veggies. Serve with crumbled feta and a quick grind of pepper.

Greek Dressing
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Turkish oregano

Combine ingredients in a jar and shake thoroughly. Allow the dressing to sit at least a day before using.

Pineapple Teriyaki Steak Salad

Nothing beats a juicy steak. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. I am truly a carnivore and the beef beastie is my favorite along with the pork beastie. I grill steaks outside all year long, but in the summer I love it best with a cool crisp salad and some fresh fruit. This dish has all three together for the perfect hot weather meal.

Pineapple Teriyaki Steak Salad

Marinade:
1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 cloves garlic finely chopped 

Dressing:

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (cider or white vinegar work too)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

Marinate two pounds of steak (flank or skirt steak) in the marinade overnight. Grill until perfect (for me perfect is medium rare) and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Slice thinly and serve on a bed of fresh romaine with fresh pineapple and a splash of dressing. Enjoy!

Pickled Purple Eggs

To the uninitiated, they look like alien spores out of a cult 70s sci-fi film. Touch them and a creature conjured from the imagination of H.R. Giger will burst forth and implant in your viscera. Run! No, wait, they are only Pickled Purple Eggs! Harmless little eggs which are a fixture of Pennsylvania salad bars and farm markets, or anywhere there is a population of Amish or Mennonite cooks. Pickled eggs were first made as a way to preserve eggs using leftover pickle juices. The Pennsylvania Dutch brought this technique, and it continues today with the area's Amish, who still live as their ancestors did without electricity.  This recipe is in homage to my own Pennsylvania Dutch ancestor - Elizabeth Barth who was born in May, 1770 and lived in Lancaster PA.

Pickled Purple Eggs
1 dozen eggs
1 14.5-ounce can of sliced or small beets
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 stick cinnamon
4 whole cloves
4 whole allspice berries

Hard boil eggs and cool immediately in ice water.  Using eggs which are a few weeks old makes them easier to peel. Set aside and allow to cool.

Combine beets, vinegar, water, sugar and spices and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool.  Peel eggs and add to cooled liquid. You can keep the beets with the eggs to pickle, or use separately. Refrigerate for two days to a week before eating. The eggs can keep in the refrigerator for up to two months.

Bulgarian Salad

(Shopska Salata)
 I first discovered this delicious salad on one of my trips to the Pittsburgh Folk Festival.  After eating the small sample (I had been sampling everywhere!) I decided to try to replicate the recipe. Since then, it has been made in ample batches each week during the hot summer months. Actually, I am surprised at how quickly this salad is consumed! Now that the warm weather is here and the requests are for "light food", this salad will once again be part of the weekly menu. If only I could keep up with the demand...

Bulgarian Salad 
4 large Cucumbers
3 medium Tomatoes chopped
1 medium Green peppers chopped
2 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/2 cup Red wine vinegar
8 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Peel cucumbers and slice in half. Remove seeds with a spoon and chop into 1/4 inch squares. Place into a large bowl. Add green peppers and tomatoes. Pour vinegar and oil on vegetables and sugar and salt. Mix vegetables and dressing mixture and refrigerate for one hour to allow the flavors to combine. Serve with crumbled feta cheese.

Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

It's interesting how recipes change with each cook who makes it. This recipe was a favorite of my grandmother and my mother. It was always on the table at parties and gatherings. It's not something I liked at first, but I have grown to love it. When my mother made it, the salad was more soupy and spread all over the plate. I am one of those people who believes that all inhabitants on the plate should keep to their own turf unless purposefully mingled by the supreme authority (that's me!) Gravy! Keep to your side of the plate - stay out of the corn! Hence my Cucumber Salad has a bit more body and is less disobedient. My mother and I also argued over the salt in the recipe. But I personally sat with my grandmother with notebook in hand and got the exact recipe as she made it - with salt!

This stuff doesn't last long in my house. I am lucky if I get one serving. The gremlins leave me nothing but an empty bowl if I dare leave it to chill overnight. Guess I need to make more!

Sour Cream Cucumber Salad
6 large cucumbers
1 medium onion, sliced thin
2 heaping tablespoons Kosher salt
12 ounces sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Additional salt, to taste

Peel and remove seeds from cucumbers and slice thinly. You can leave on some of the green cucumber peels and use red onions for a bit of color, as this salad is very white. Combine with sliced onions in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt and cold water to cover. Refrigerate overnight until cucumbers and onions are wilted. Drain and squeeze out extra juice from the vegetables. (Squeeze them good or the salad will be too salty and too runny). Stir in sour cream, sugar and season with additional salt to taste. Serve yourself a bowl and hope there are some left when you return for seconds!