Thursday, July 22, 2010

It's All Greek to Me!

I meant to post this last night but I am officially old and could barely hold my head up at 10pm when I finally got into bed. A little elementary math:

Morning traffic + 8 hours of work + gym + evening traffic = one very exhausted Rachael

Seriously, I don't know if it's the commute or the simple fact that I am out of my house for 12 hours a day or just adjusting to a new lifestyle or what, but I have been sooooo tired every night when I get home. Like can barely keep my eyes open, don't want to move from physical exhaustion tired.

I finally had my first run in with really horrible LA traffic. HA and I thought my commute was traffic-filled. I had no idea. I tried to go to a speaker's panel at my law school which involved a commute from the South Bay to Downtown. The event started at 6, I figured if I left at 5 I'd get there, no problem! Laughable, laughable I say! When it took me 30 minutes to go 3 miles trying to merge onto the first of 3 freeways I realized it was a lost cause unless I abandoned my car and ran there. So, I promptly turned on my trusty GPS and headed home via surface streets. It took me 2 hours to get home. 2. hours. Maddening! Thank the dear sweet heavens above I recently purchased "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on audiobook - it keeps me sane.

My sweet roomie cooked me dinner last night of grilled "cheese" and spicy roasted tomato fennel soup as a thanks for the delicious homemade granola I supply (with granola this good, there is no room for modesty. Trust). I say "cheese" because she used vegan "cheese" called Daiya and I must say as an avid cheddar lover, this stuff hit the spot. It actually melts and tastes really good! I recommend if you are lactose intolerant or aiming to cut down your dairy (I am neither...). But, I made some very delicious Greek-inspired potato salad for dinner the night before and have been wanting to share it but have been too tired to keep my eyes open. We won't talk about what I ate for dinner tonight. Let's just say it involved beans, cheese, and not a lot else. Hey, it's Thursday, and I am T-I-R-E-D.

Greek Potato Salad (makes 2-3 servings)

7 small dutch baby yellow potatoes (or red-skinned or yukon golds or whatever you like - about 2 cups) cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups green  beans, cut into 2 inch long pieces
2 small tomatoes diced
1/4 red onion thinly sliced into half moons
Handful of mixed greens, arugula, or spinach per serving
1 oz feta, cut into small bits or crumbled

Dressing:

Juice from 1 lemon
2 T olive oil
Lots of fresh cracked pepper
Dried or fresh herbs (I used about 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used a handy dandy garlic press)

Put the diced potatoes into a small pot and cover with water. Place on the stove, bring to a boil, and cook until a fork pierces easily (about 20 minutes or so). Towards the end, pop in the green beans for a few minutes giving them a quick blanch - you just want to remove that raw edge. Or cook them longer if you don't like your veggies al dente. Drain in a colander and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

Make the dressing in a bowl large enough to hold everything but the greens. Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing, add potatoes, beans, feta, tomatoes, and onions. Toss it all up to coat and taste to see if you need to add any salt or more pepper - I didn't find mine to need any salt because the lemon/garlic combination was nice and tangy and feta is super salty. You could also add in some garbanzo or cannelini (white kidney) beans for a protein boost. To serve, place a handful of greens in a bowl and spoon desired amount of potato salad on top. I used mixed greens with my dinner and ate another serving with arugula for lunch. Both were good - I LOVE potatoes in salad. Such a treat. I also ate mine with a hunk of that kalamata olive demi-batard, wasting food be damned!

Did you know that potatoes are actually really good for you? I feel like they get a bad rap! They aren't very high in calories (so long as you aren't eating a MONDO one, but if it's a meal, then go ahead and eat the huge 'tater), their skin is full of micronutrients (and is a good source of potassium), and do I even need to mention their starchy deliciousness? So eat them!


Forgive the flash, but this one looks better than without a flash under my kitchen lights. You get the point, it still looks yummy, right?

Next post I will talk about one of my other favorite Greek foods - Greek yogurt (is it really Greek?). I also want to tell you about my new adventures in making my own cleaning products. Yes, I'm that crunchy. Night.

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