Olive Salad

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I haven't been blogging to much lately because plain old life just got in the way and I have this horrible cold that has been lingering on for 2 weeks almost. Just can't shake it.........I have been cooking but got lazy pulling out the camera.........I always put each camera in a different place and then can't find it. Same old story with me.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe but I've had it for years.........if my memory serves me correct I think one of my husband's friend's wife gave it to me. I collect lots of recipe and forget to write where it was adapted it from. But lately I've been good and jot down the source.

This is one of my daughter's fave side salads...........she can inhale the whole bowl herself and that will be her dinner. I come from an Eastern Europe background so when I was growing up we only had olives my Mom would buy when guests would come over...........and those were for 'Martini's'. I don't remember seeing any at my friend's home either. But when I got married to a Turk 25 years ago, he was eating them for breakfast. They were those huge black Kalamata olives, for the first year I couldn't swallow an Olive early in the morning, too salty and well it wasn't breakfast food for me. Now with a piece of bread and cheese I can down a couple of Olives. Quite frankly I've begun to really love Olives now, I guess I got use to the tasteand we always have a variety in the fridge, because in the old days I only thought they had those stuffed green olives. Couldn't figure out if they grew like that or someone stuffed them and thought 'man they sure would take a long time to stuff each one'. Hey.......I was a lil' kid then.

OLIVE SALAD~

1 cup green pimento stuffed olives, chopped

2 small Roma tomatoes, peeled, sliced and diced

2 green onion, chopped

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Fresh Black Pepper

Firstly I put the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute, then took out and put into ice water for a minute or so and then the skins come off very easly.


In a medium bowl add the chopped olives, diced tomatoes and chopped green onions along with the chopped parsley.


Mix olive oil and lemon in a small bowl and pour over the olive mixture............*I like to use Canola Oil as it has a milder taste with the olives...... but it is what you prefer.

*****This is also yummy as a topper for hamburgers off the grill.


Thanks for stopping by and have a great Friday!!!!!!

Greek Salad

This is one of my Herb pots in my garden..........I planted some mint here along with sage, chives, basil, Marigolds [to keep Alvin the Chipmunk away] and some alyssums for decoration. This was what my pot looked like a week after I planted it. Now it is blooming over and the alyssum is just gorgeous hanging over with it's purple flowers.
I usually plant mint because my husband loves it. He has a Turkish background and they use it quite a lot for their dishes. Never mind the Olives, he eats them by the buckets full. When he was growing up as a lil' kid they had a summer home they would go to in the summer and on that place they had olive trees....... well it was an Olive farm, so I'm sure that he had plenty there.



Here is a Greek Salad with a sprig of mint........just my husband sprinkles some on his salads. I prefer not to.

I don't have any recipes set in stone for Greek Salads I just wing it or chop up whatever I have in the fridge that needs my attention.

I usually chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, parsley. Then I add some Feta and Kalamata Olives.
If I have peppers on hand I will add those also........but here I didn't have any. Sometimes I will peel the cucmbers and sometimes not. I always like to add a red onion as I find it quite mild.
This salad we have a lot in the summer as it is so refreshing and especially if we have fresh tomatoes from the garden.......and my overflowing pots of parsley.

This is the vinaigrette that I use;

Shake or stir together to a ratio of 3:1

EVOO...Extra -Virgin Olive Oil

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 or 2 cloves of garlic finely minced

1/2 tsp. ground Oregano

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Put ingredients into a tight fitting small jar and shake well.

Right before I serve the salad I pour dressing over it........I find no one likes a soggy salad or one with too much dressing.

We love this salad in the summer with just a crusty piece of bread and we are full, it is such a filling salad. Sometimes I cut my veggies in bigger shapes or my red onions in rings........well I guess it depends on how I feel like that time of day when I'm making this salad.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Potato Salad and Bridal Wreath

I have this "Bridal Wreath" a 'Spirea' bush in my backyard..........it's a member of the Rose family. They have small leaves and fine twiggy branches with clusters of flowers.

Here is a FYI; Aspirin is the generic medical name for the chemical acetylsalicylic acid.....a deriative of 'salicylic acid'. Compounds of 'salicylic acid' is found in these plants. Acetyl- and spirea which inspired the name ASPIRIN.........

The reason I'm showing this bush today is b/c my Mother passed away this week 4 years ago and when I bought my house she always adored this bush when she came over with those clusters of white flowers........... but they don't last too long maybe a week or so.

Potato Salad

I know............there are so many versions and different recipes of "Potato Salad"with all sorts of veggies and dressings but this is the one my Mother and my Aunt Maria her sister use to make when I was lil'. I remember on Saturday mornings when they would sometimes make this salad it was my job to peel them and dice them up........I always burned my finger tips trying to peel them while hot so I could get that chore over with. Sometimes I would plop a potato piece in my mouth every so often......I can still taste it.

There was no set recipe, just they would by memory mix it all..........and make it nice and creamy.

I tried and put together as best as I could the ingredients.

5 med. potatoes

4 eggs, hard boiled

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

2 green scallions, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1/2 cup peas, frozen and thawed

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. lemon juice

I boil them potatoes with the skins on........when cool I peel and dice them up and put into a large bowl. Add the chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped scallions, celery, shredded carrot, chopped parsley, peas, salt and pepper and then add the mayo and sour cream.

You can add more of anything after you taste it..........it is whatever you prefer to your tastes.

I like to add sour cream because to me it tastes a bit smoother..........This should chill at least 4 to 6 hours to let the flavours marry together.

I have also found that if I use FF dairy products the taste and texture of this salad changes dramatically. I don't mind because this salad is not made often so in my family we are good to go when we eat this.

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Have a great weekend!