What I am reading lately...

It has been a while since I wrote about what I have been reading lately. I have several I want to let you know about. No time like the present to jump right in.

The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings, the author of The Descendants, is a novel about Sarah St. John. Three months ago she lost her twenty one year old son, Cully, in an avalanche. She is just starting to go back to work and figure out how to continue with life.  Her father tries to distract her with various QVC purchases.  Her best friend is struggling with her own messy divorce.  

While cleaning out Cully's room she uncovers details of his life she knew nothing about. These details bring up more grief and questions about her abilities as a mother when Cully was alive. Family, friends and even strangers help Sarah find direction in her life. 

The book is sad but not sappy and portrays love, friendship and overcoming grief. The book reads smoothly and fast. I got done with the whole thing in one flight. 

4th of July Recap and WIAW

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend.  It ended up pouring here all day Friday so Mr. J and I watched a lot of tv and had fun lounging on the couch. The weekend was beautiful though. We got our 4th celebrations in with a parade, a BBQ, and some fireworks. 

We also got some house work done. Over the winter our front door got a huge crack in it. This weekend we got a new one. Now I just need to paint it. Looks good huh?  We also started replacing our windows. Two down. Twenty some to go.

And no summer weekend is complete with out some grilling. We made lots and lots of kabobs to feed the hungry family. They were so good. I don't know why we don't make them more often.

This week I took a quick trip to Iowa. Lucky for me I got in and out dodging all of the severe storms.  Breakfast at the hotel was some cereal. A mix of raisin bran and Cheerios.

Lunch was in a cute little Victorian house. You could order a mini burger and salad. It hit the spot perfectly.

I didn't have a long layover so I grabbed some fried rice to eat on the plane. It was actually one of the better airport meals I have gotten lately. I ate in on the plane though and I smelled Chinese for the whole 3 hour flight. I hope my neighbors weren't annoyed. 

I took a bit of break blogging the last few days. It wasn't planned that way but it was not to shut down for a bit. I have a few posts coming up but I think for the rest of summer things will be a bit slower around here. 

Chopped Greek Salad

I have been living on salad lately. It got hot and humid in Connecticut.  Oven use and really anything that takes lots of effort is just not going to happen.  

I have been making a salad mix on Sunday and then having it for lunch all week long.  Genius I tell you.  Prepping on Sunday and packing it into single serving containers makes for the easiest no thought grab and go lunch ever. And it is delicious. 

This chopped Greek salad was a snap to put together. A can of garbanzo beans and a handful of your favorite chopped veggies - cucumbers, tomatoes, and some peppers. And I don't know about you but I cannot call something Greek without some feta cheese. 

Toss it all together and stir in the dressing.  Yum, yum and yum. No lettuce means no worrying about wilting greens. I enjoyed this salad served just like this or also as a topping for greens later in the week. 

The dressing is just enough to bring all of the flavors together but not overwhelming in and of itself. 

My only problem is that Mr. J will not eat garbanzo beans.  So this salad left all for me. I guess this might not be such a problem after all.  

Chopped Greek Salad

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: raw salad

6064244

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 hothouse cucumber
• 4-5 ripe roma tomatoes
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 small red onion
• 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup feta crumbles

For the Dressing:

• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

Make the dressing: in a small bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Dice the cucumber, onion, bell pepper and tomatoes (removing any excess liquid from tomatoes).

Put vegetables and garbanzo beans in a large bowl.

Add dressing and toss to combine.

Can eat immediately or refrigerate to let flavors combine. Stir before serving.

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