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June 2, 2011
MKMW Catch up: Egypt & Greece
I took pictures--but then neglected my poor little blog for nearly a month.
As the summer gets unbearably hot, I tend to turn more towards salads and antipasta/meza/tapas-as-dinner sorts of meals. Which worked well for the My Kitchen, My World challenges these past two months.
For Egypt (April), I made a simple couscous salad, and served it with some melon on the side.
Couscous salad
1 cup whole-wheat couscous
1.5 cups water
Boil water. Add couscous, turn off heat and cover. In about 5 minutes, uncover and fluff.
Cool slightly and add:
Halved cherry tomatoes
Mild onions, diced (soak in cold water if you're planning on leftovers so they don't get too spicy)
Fresh herbs (parsley, mint, basil)--a few tbsp. or to taste
1/4 cup feta crumbled
1-2 tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Serve warm, room temperature or cool. It would be good with chickpeas or shredded chicken.
For Greece (May), I made a simple Greek chicken salad. (and forgot to take a picture--it looked like a generic salad, but it was tasty!)
For two:
Homemade croutons: cube 1-2 slices of bread (we used Trader Joe's Tuscan pane). In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp. olive oil with dried herbs (oregano or Greek or Italian seasoning) and salt (I used Penzey's Greek seasoning mix). Drizzle olive oil over bread cubes and toss quickly to combine. I toasted them in the toaster oven on two short cycles. Otherwise, bake at about 350 for 10 minutes, then leave in the oven after it's turned off to dry.
Feta dressing: In food processor (or by hand) combine 1 cup yogurt (if you have Greek yogurt or labne, even better), 1/4 feta, 1 tbsp. Greek seasoning,* 1 tbsp. lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste (a little red pepper or chipotle pepper for a kick). *Penzey's includes garlic. Otherwise, add a clove of minced garlic or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.
Cover each plate with lettuce. Add diced tomatoes, onions and cucumbers, and pitted and halved kalamata olives. Add diced or shredded cooked chicken (about 1/2 cup) (or other protein), croutons, crumbled feta, and dressing.
My Kitchen, My World , cooking stuff | By Tim and Jo | 9:28 AM
Comments
Joanna, thanks for sharing these! The couscous salad looks great, we've been on a couscous kick here lately (after not having it for months) so I can't wait to give your recipe a try. Wanted to let you know the MKMW destination Egypt round-up is finally posted. Hope you and your sweet family are having a wonderful weekend :)
Posted by: Andrea at Nummy Kitchen at June 5, 2011 10:13 AM
