Recipe: Puppy Picnic and a Bangin’ Greek Salad

Two years ago, I spontaneously decided to pack up or sell everything I owned and move to Santorini, Greece for the summer with four of my old college friends.  It was a terribly irresponsible decision that resulted in the best summer of my entire life.  For nearly four months, I did nothing but sit on Perissa’s black sand beach, watch countless sunsets and sunrises, drive ATVs at irresponsible speeds, drink my weight in Mythos and raki while enjoying the freshest seafood and most irresistible Greek food that I will ever come across.  Everything about the summer of 2010 was phenomenal.  Sometimes, I am overcome with such longing for Santorini and island life that I become paralyzed.  It’s odd to experience homesickness regarding a place that I only called home for a few months, but that’s exactly what the paralyzing feeling is.  It’s sheer longing for nothing but this:

Clearly, summertime in Seattle is spent in a slightly different manner.  No naked Europeans or World Cup madness or Mythos drinking goes on here – and that makes me sad.  I was feeling particularly nostalgic about Santorini this week while grocery shopping when I had the best idea I’ve had in ages: I was going to pack a picnic and take Blaze to the Seattle Center to bask in the sun.  For a few minutes, I felt absolutely brilliant: Blaze would sit there and look cute, maybe picking me up a date or two for later this week, while I would sit in front of the fountain and enjoy a delicious Greek salad and catching a bit of a tan.  I’m happy to report that I held up my end of the bargain: the Greek salad was absolutely amazing and made me feel slightly more at home than I had previously… but Blaze failed miserably.  All he did was attract children and two vagrants with smelly, matted dogs that wanted to play with him.  Poor showing, right?!  Lesson learned: Greek salads are always a great idea.  Puppy picnics at the city’s hub for children running through fountains and bums looking for a nap? Not usually such a great idea.

Heirloom Greek Salad

Ingredients (per salad):
1 small heirloom tomato, sliced
1/4 English cucumber, cubed
Few slices of red onion
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
5 or 6 kalamata olives
Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
Dash of dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Drizzle of olive oil (about 1.5 Tbsp.)

Method:
1) Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Total time: 5-10 minutes
Serves: one