Fresh and Refreshing

I love this very simple salad.  It takes no time at all to pull it together, and it's delicious, with the crisp crunch of English cucumber and the biting tang of fresh tomatoes.  There are two ways to dress this salad.  My favorite method involves fragrant sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar.  Another good method is to add a bit of feta cheese and dress the ingredients with a light vinaigrette.  Both are quick and easy to prepare, but have very distinctive flavors -- one with Asian notes, while the other has a Mediterranean flair (especially if you also add kalamata olives).



I like to use English cucumbers.  They're the long ones wrapped in plastic.  Their skins are thinner and less waxy, so they don't need to be peeled.  They also have fewer seeds.  Tomatoes fresh from the garden are best to use, but as an alternative firm, ripe tomatoes on the vine from the store are just fine.  Sweet cherry tomatoes would work as well.  This isn't a fussy recipe.



The brand of seasoned rice vinegar my mother likes to use in this recipe (I know it from her) is Marukan, so that's what I use, but I'm sure other seasoned rice vinegars would work as well.  If you choose to use unseasoned rice vinegar, just know that you'll have to add your own sugar, salt, mirin, etc., in order to achieve the same flavor, otherwise it'll be rather bland.



Because of the tomatoes, this salad is best consumed the same day it's made.  Refrigeration makes the tomatoes mealy and the whole salad becomes unpleasantly watery.  Besides, the vegetables taste their best at room temperature.

I don't have a specific recipe, because there are so few ingredients and the amount of vegetables used as well as preference dictates the seasoning.  Use more tomatoes, use fewer tomatoes.  Add a little rice vinegar or add a lot.  Use a whole cucumber or only use half.  Drizzle the seasonings over the vegetables modestly, then taste it.  If it needs more of anything, add it.  Serve and enjoy -- I guarantee you will eat a lot more than you think you will!

Spinach & Feta Cream Cheese Spread

This is one of those recipes that Jade and I discovered ages ago, when I liked cooking, but it wasn't the passion it is now. Many of the recipes that I used to make from that period involved pre-prepared food (you know, such as mixes, or juice I wouldn't squeeze myself, or "helper"-type things), and when I revisit them from time to time, more often than not I end up tossing the recipes away. Not only because they may involve ingredients that I can't pronounce, but because it just doesn't taste very good. Preparing fresh food has spoiled me (in a good way).



This is not one of those recipes. It might involve some pre-preparedness, but it's not the kind I feel guilty about -- I still know what's going into it. As for flavor, well, that's stood the test of time. This is just as yummy as I remember it being, the feta and garlic lending bite to the cream cheese, the spinach giving it depth and color, and the yogurt to thin and smooth everything out. I actually adapted the recipe from the original to include the yogurt, because I'm actually using this as a veggie dip this time, and without the yogurt it's more of a spread. In fact, even with the yogurt it's still quite thick and can be easily spread on crackers. I think I actually like this version better than the old; next time I'm going to add a handful of pine nuts as well. I think the flavor and crunch of the nuts would complement the other flavors very nicely -- but only if it's going to be served immediately. Otherwise the nuts will get soggy and it won't be such a great addition.

The pre-preparedness comes in the form of frozen chopped spinach (you can use fresh if you like) and crushed garlic from Trader Joe's (you can crush fresh garlic if you like). I used a block of feta and crumbled it myself; to save time you can buy the pre-crumbled kind in a tub. As Jade notes you can mix everything together in a food processor, but this comes together easily with a big bowl and a fork -- just make sure you mix everything thoroughly.

This recipe is also very flexible and should be made according to your own taste; add more feta, less garlic, whatever pleases your taste buds.



Spinach & Feta Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients

• 8oz cream cheese
• 4oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 10oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained completely of water
• 1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt (optional)
• 2 tbsp pine nuts (optional)

Method

1. Thoroughly mix the cream cheese and feta cheese together, crushing the feta so it melds with the cream cheese.
2. Add the spinach and garlic, combining until there are no big patches of plain cream cheese.
3. If using, add the yogurt to thin out the mixture, again mixing well. Add more yogurt by the tablespoon to achieve desired consistency. Finally, mix in the pine nuts.
4. Serve with crackers and/or fresh-cut veggies. (You can easily prepare this spread ahead of time and set it out at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. If using the pine nuts, however, serve immediately.)

Saturday Dinner: Feta Burgers

It's time for another Saturday night dinner, but once again it's a special edition as we did it for lunch instead of dinner. On the menu today: Feta Burgers! Actually, it was supposed to be lamb burgers, but ground lamb isn't exactly easy to come by. (Plus I'm just not a huge fan of lamb in general; it has to be extremely fresh and cooked perfectly so that the gamey aftertaste isn't as strong.) Instead I used beef and Jade used chicken.



Other than the lamb, I followed the recipe exactly. It was super simple, took less than 15 minutes to prepare and make. I know because I had misjudged the time, and got home from the supermarket (and Starbucks) with only 15 minutes to spare until we were supposed to meet up. I mixed up the meat and slapped the patty in a cast-iron pan to cook. Instead of serving with rice or bread on the side, I decided to eat it as a real burger with a sesame bun. I sliced up a Roma tomato and spread some mustard on one side of the bun. If I'd had more time I would have lightly toasted it. Though I waited awhile, the feta cheese refused to melt on the meat. :/ I even covered it for about 30-45 seconds to encourage the steam to melt it, but it was stubborn. Finally I gave up and just took the patty out of the pan with chunks of feta cheese sitting on top. It was still tasty!



Jade was a little fancier with hers. She sauteed some spinach and added it to the ground chicken along with some marjoram, then formed patties. She also added some sliced portabello mushroom to the sandwich.



Using some spray oil, she made some corn tortilla chips to go on the side (as well as a salad). I've made my own corn tortilla chips before, but always by deep frying in oil. If just spraying the pan with a bit of oil works just as well, I might try that and save myself some calories.



Since I was in a hurry I didn't have anything to accompany my burger. Jade's plating puts mine to shame!



Feta Burger

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g (roughly a pound) lean ground meat (your choice of lamb, beef, chicken, turkey, etc.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp rosemary (or 2 minced tsp if using fresh)
• pinch of ground black pepper
• 6 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

Method

1. Mix the meat, salt, garlic powder, rosemary, and pepper. Shape into 4 patties.
2. Cook the patties in a pan, using spray oil, until browned, for about 5 minutes. Flip once during this process so both sides get brown.
3. Sprinkle with cheese and cook until the cheese melts (or burger is done and you are tired waiting for the cheese to melt).
4. Serve on hamburger buns, or eat as a meat entree with some rice and veggies on the side.

Notes: You can jazz up the meat any way you like -- add additional herbs and spices, or even sauteed spinach as Jade did. And as with all burgers, you can add condiments to your preference. If I'd had time I might have fried up some bacon or sauteed some mushrooms and onions.