Greek_Salad_IMG_7725My mom makes a mean greek salad. There is no recipe, of course. She’ll tell you the secret is lots of fresh oregano and a little bit of the brine from the feta cheese.

I’m calling my version Redemption Greek Salad because Rose really pissed me off this afternoon. Recently, after she pulled on my dress and exposed my boob for perhaps the 20th time, I made it very clear that I’d had about enough of clothes-pulling.

When she yanked on my dress, repeatedly, this afternoon, I kinda lost my cool. I yelled at her in public, which is something I’ve always made a point of not doing.

Of course I forgave her a few minutes later, and went back to merely being annoyed that she couldn’t let go of my dress, and enjoy the party she’d insisted on attending. Okay, I might have still been just the teeniest bit bitter.

And then she ate Greek Salad for dinner. Greek Salad! Nothing else, no whining, no requests for something else. She ate Greek Salad for dinner and redeemed herself completely.

• Redemption Greek Salad •
feta cheese in brine
fresh oregano
capers
olive oil
chopped tomatoes
lettuce
kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
optional things to add: anchovies, cucumbers, sliced red onion

In a salad bowl, combine equal parts lemon juice and feta brine (that’s the water from the feta cheese that comes in water). Add a sprinkling of capers, crumble in a little bit of feta cheese to make it kind of creamy, add chopped fresh oregano and mix well. Add enough olive oil so that the dressing is tangy but not too tangy. Season with salt and pepper keeping in mind that the feta and olives will add additional salt. Add the tomatoes and toss with the dressing, then add the salad greens and toss again. Top with cubes of feta and olives.