My Big Fat Greek Salad

My co-worker, Stephanie Morris, has been a major support to my efforts to eat healthfully by her willingness to make salads for our lunch. All one needs to do is bring whatever salad veggies are available and she is good to go.

I, on the other hand, am uncharacteristicly lazy when it comes to salad preparation. Many times I purchase salad greens and watch them slowly wilt over a two-week period with promises that I will make that salad to go with dinner...tomorrow. My family doesn't complain about this so it is a bad habit gone unchecked. When I do summon the will to fix a salad, it is often uninspired and I have to prod my family to partake in it.

Not anymore. In fact, increasingly, my saladian purchases come directly to the WCF staff kitchen and I stick with steamed veggies for supper at home which for whatever reason seems to work better both for me and my clan.

During the winter my favorite salad is the typical greens assortment with red onion & tomato. Stephanie makes an awesome simple vinaigrette dressing which I am sure she wouldn't mind me sharing. (See below).

During the summer however, we have gone "Greek" due to the abundance of tomatoes & cucumbers from my garden. I brought what I had and she did the rest by adding the red onion, feta and her dressing.. Almost daily we dish servings from the communal salad bowl savouring the fresh veggies, tangy dressing and salty feta. Stephanie sometimes passes around the bag of olives from home that she keeps separate from the rest of the salad for my sake.

I became so addicted to this healthy indulgence that I begged  for her dressing recipe (see below) and asked her to buy some feta on my behalf so I could make the salad at home on the weekends and contribute more fully to the process. Typically, I dislike large chunks of cheese and only tolerate Feta crumbled into very fine crumbs, but the fresh feta that Stephanie buys from Sam's in the states is very mild and tasty so I ask for bigger pieces.

I used to put dollops of Kraft dressings on my roughage but after experiencing these homemade dressings, the others do not compare. Thanks Stephanie for your salad dressing mentorship! I'm still a bit lazy since Stephanie does the majority of the actual washing & slicing of the vegetables but once in a while I get in there and help. Once I even made the whole salad and delivered it to Stephanie's desk when she was too busy to take a formal lunch. I think she liked that.

Stephanie's Basic Vinaigrette
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Stephanie's Greek Salad Dressing
3 fl oz Olive Oil
1 fl oz Red Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic, minced
1/4 Tsp Oregano