June 20

A few weeks ago, we were leaving our friend’s apartment and she offered us a few springs of fresh oregano from her garden. Obviously, I accepted. Ever since I started my little indoor herb garden, I am convinced that there is nothing more convenient and delicious than having whatever amount of fresh herbs that you need at the ready. I never grew oregano though. I didn’t think I would use it often enough to merit it a spot on my small herb table. I was very pleased to leave with my little gift and made sure to stick the sprigs in a small cup of water in the fridge to stay fresh while I decided what to do with it. That night, I went to the store to buy the reddest tomatoes, crispest cucumbers and the best goat’s feta (which we are now completely obsessed with) that I could find. If I didn’t live with an olive hater, I would have grabbed some of those too. With all of those lovely, summery ingredients, I made a simple Greek salad. It was so good that it has become a weekly staple for us ever since, which is saying something because that rarely happens around here.



With a squeeze of lemon, some high quality, fruity olive oil, and creamy feta this is the perfect salad. I love how it gets better as it sits. I always make more than we need so I can snack on it for lunch over the next couple of days. After a few hours, the juice from the tomatoes, lemon, olive oil, and feta pool at the bottom of the bowl. I am not ashamed to say that I drink the leftover dressing that accumulates every time: it is possibly the best part of the whole salad. Of course you can also use a crusty piece of sourdough to mop it up if you have some on hand! The salad salty, sweet, fresh, and I couldn’t ask for anything else on a hot summer’s day.

On a side note: I save the water that the feta sits in and use it in pasta sauce. It gives the best salty undertone to my basil pesto, don’t throw it away!