My Summer Salad

    My half-greek mother has taught me a lot of great tips for cooking.  One of them is cooking without measurements.  It's so much ore adventurous that way!  And, like it or not, it's the way all of our family recipes are written.  It's all to taste, and they come out a little differently every time, which adds to the excitement!  She also taught me how to make my favorite "greek" salad, and I like to load it down with plenty of "goodies" and make a meal out of it, perfect for the summer when you want to eat light, healthy foods that are in season (thank you, Mireille Guiliano of French Women Don't Get Fat!).  So, with any or all of these ingredients (remember, we are cooking to taste, so if you don't like it, don't put it in), I present my big spring/summer salad.

Salad ingredients:
lettuce (duh)
grilled chicken (usually, it's just whatever is left over from my last dinner, but sometimes I roast the chicken in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper)
feta cheese (I like Athenos' tomato and basil variety)
diced red peppers
diced tomatoes
black beans
diced red onions
dried oregano

And the dressing:
olive oil and balsamic vinegar (two parts olive oil, one part balsamic vinegar)

And there you have it!  Delicious and easy, especially if you prep large portions of all of the ingredients ahead of time (another trick from my mom!).  And it's portable - I just throw it in a plastic container and bring it to work or school with a fork.