What I'm Cooking - Breakfast Smoothies and Greek Salad

Sumertiiiiime and the [cooking] is eaaaaaaaasy...

That's right folks, summer has finally arrived bringing with it triple digit weather and a desire for some lighter, cooler fare. And in this case there isn't any cooking at all!

THE BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE:

First up is my summertime breakfast staple, the Breakfast Smoothie from Macheesmo.

I've been making these for the last three years and I love 'em. Since I'm just making them for me I've pretty much cut his recipe in half, but it still makes for an impressive serving, as you can see. You can use any fruit that you want, but the Coscto down the road from me sells frozen strawberries in massive six pound bags, so that usually my berry of choice.


1/2 cup orange juice
1 medium-to-small banana
1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup silken tofu
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 cup frozen strawberries, chopped (I just grab eight)

Dump everything into a blender in the order listed above and let her rip. You'll want a fairly decent blender or you may hear it start to complain loudly as ours frequently do.


GREEK SALAD:

Up next is an delicious and healthy Greek Salad from Serious Eats.



This requires a bit more work than the smoothie but is still really simple and can easily feed you for a week. I brought it in for lunch at work and paired it with a nectarine every day. It's a great way to make sure you're eating your vegetables.

1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, chopped into cubes
Kosher salt
1 small red onion, sliced or chopped
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine tomatoes and cucumbers in a large bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Transfer to a fine mesh strainer and set over bowl. Set aside to drain, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place onions in a medium bowl and cover with lukewarm water. Rinse and drain thoroughly. Repeat 2 more times until onions lose most of their pungency and taste sweet.

3. When tomatoes and cucumbers are drained, combine with onions, feta, mint, oregano, lemon juice, and olive oil in a large bowl and toss to combine. Season to taste with pepper and more salt if desired (the feta is salty so you may not need any extra salt).

BAM! I just 2/3rds of your meals for next week. You're welcome. :D