I did make a few changes to the recipe… I used more cucumber than it called for. And I kept the peel on and seeds in, since a cucumber is not a cucumber without (at least to me). But like David recommended, I served the salad with some baked pita chips.

Enjoy the recipe, but also make sure you read to the end of this post to see a fun, Gap giveaway!

Cucumber and Feta Salad:

• 2 medium cucumbers, diced into pea-sized pieces
• Coarse salt
• 8 oz. Athenos feta cheese (I used half cracked black pepper and half traditional)
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 2-3 T freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T water
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely-diced
• 1 T fresh mint
• 1 T fresh parsley
• 1 T fresh dill

After chopping my cucumbers, I put them in a colander with some salt and let them drain for about 30 minutes, shaking the colander from time to time.

I crumbled the feta in a medium bowl and mixed together with olive oil, lemon juice, water, and some black pepper.

Then mixed in the onion and herbs.

And the cucumber, too!

And mixed it all together.

I kept the salad in the fridge, while I baked my pita chips. I simply cut whole wheat pita bread into triangles, brushed some olive oil on them, sprinkled salt on them, and baked them for about 8 minutes at 375 degrees.

Perfection!

I served the salad in a smaller bowl.

With the pita chips.

And piled a bit of the cucumber feta salad on some of the pita chips.

This would be a great little hors d’oeuvres for a party.

Or you could just serve the salad and pita chips separately and let guests dip the chips themselves.

Chels came over to enjoy the salad (she’s not sick of feta salads either!). And then we headed out to see our friends’ band at the Middle East in Cambridge. They band is called The Timberfakes and they’re a Justin Timberlake cover band!

They’re pretty awesome and you should definitely check them out at their upcoming shows.

We had a blast… The Timberfakes sold out the Middle East, which is absolutely amazing!!

And now for the giveaway! Remember when I had that Gap Born to Fit party last year? Well I’m still a Gap brand enthusiast and I still get lovely presents from them and Brand About Town in the mail every so often. They recently sent me this super cute faded denim jacket. I never ever ever thought I would be a fan of faded denim (especially in jacket form), but I love this!

It’s super lightweight and perfect to throw on over a summer outfit. But could also actually be worn as a button-up shirt.

Anyway, since they sent me this cute jacket, I wanted to do something for you guys, too! They also gave me a gift certificate for a free pair of Gap jeans! And I’m, of course, giving it to one of you lucky readers.

Want a chance to win? All you have to do is give me your best moving tip. I’m moving this Friday, for the first time in 5 years, and I’m welcoming all moving advice.

You have until Friday, July 30, at 11:59 p.m. to enter. And you can get extra entries by tweeting about the giveaway and referencing @wearenotmartha and/or blogging about it.

Good luck!! And wish me luck on a super crazy busy week, during which I also have to finish packing my life up!

[Sues]

Here’s what you need for one serving (I mostly eyeballed my measurements but you can find a more exact recipe here):

• 1/2 of a large zucchini, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used panko since that’s what I had on hand, you could also use seasoned bread crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg (I used the entire egg, you can also use just the egg white)

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

• In a small bowl mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

• Place the egg in a separate bowl, dip the zucchini slices in egg, then coat with the bread crumb mixture.

• Place all slices on a greased baking sheet. I sprayed mine with a bit of olive oil.

• Bake for 5 minutes then flip each slice and bake for another 7-10 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

The taste and flavor were definitely there but this is definitely a work in progress. I think next time I’d like to cut the slices just a tad thinner because they brown a bit better than the thicker slices. They’re more “chip-like” and crispy when they’re thin, too!

After the chips were done baking I realized I hadn’t eaten any lunch so I topped a bed of spinach with some fresh sweet corn, Athenos Tomato and Basil Feta, and the zucchini chips. And I quickly whipped up a dressing that consisted of plain Greek yogurt, fresh parsley, red onion, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, cumin, and tomato which worked really well and was just the right consistency with the zucchini chips!

And now it’s Feta Friday Giveaway Time! Making a change for the Feta one giveaway at a time

The prize pack includes:

• Free Athenos Feta coupon
• 1-month gym membership to LifeTime Fitness
• Athenos water bottle
• Athenos Feta recipe booklet
• Salad shaker travel container (great for picnics or taking your lunch to work!)
• Reusable lunch bag

Just like I created zucchini chips completely unplanned, share with us your best accident turned “this is a keeper recipe”! Leave a comment on this post with your story by Tuesday, July 27 11:59pm EST for your chance to win the prize pack! We’ll randomly select a winner and announce it next week

Happy weekend, friends!

[Chels]

My dad told me that shrimp and feta is one of his favorite combinations and after checking out tons of recipes, i decided tomatoes and orzo would be the perfect complements. Negative points for my grocery store not having orzo. Argh! But instead I got a whole wheat pilaf with orzo mixed in. Not perfect, but it worked. Actually, it worked quite well because this was delicious!

Shrimp and Feta Orzo Salad (serves 4):

• 1.5 C orzo
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
• Salt and pepper
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3 oz. Athenos feta (I used the black peppercorn variety)
• A couple sprigs of thyme

First, get your orzo cooking, according to the directions.

Then, put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then put your shrimp in and cook for 3-5 minutes, until shrimp turn opaque. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, too.

Get your tomatoes all chopped up.

Then add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook until heated through, about 30 seconds.

Put the orzo and shrimp and tomatoes in a bowl. And toss with the feta and thyme.

And that is literally ALL YOU DO. I told you, easiest thing ever. But still, quite impressive, right?

It was light and perfect for another hot summer night. Have I mentioned how excited I am to move into an apartment with AC in 9 days?? No? Well, I am! It won’t make turning the oven on so tough, either.

Which means I’ll probably be making a ton more baked goods! But for now, I certainly can’t complain about dishes like this one!

What’s your favorite way to prepare shrimp?

[Sues]

So, while this salad did have plenty of veggie-goodness, it wasn’t exactly totally healthy. But like I said, it’s Monday, and we have to ease into this week slowly. So, yes, there are corn and tomatoes. But yes, there is also butter. The good news? I got my salad inspiration from this recipe on the Food Channel website, but I changed it a bit. And cut way down on the butter it called for. And the olive oil too (though there’s nothing I hate more than people who bash olive oil. In moderation, it’s SO good for you!!).

Pan-Roasted Corn Salad with Tomatoes and Feta:

• 4 ears of corn, husks and silks removed and shucked off cob (about 3.5 C of kernels)
• 1.5 T unsalted butter
• 2.5 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 t thyme, freshly chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 C halved cherry tomatoes
• 4 oz. Athenos feta cheese, crumbled (I used Athenos Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic. OMG!)
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 2 T basil, slivered

To be honest, I am not a huge lover of corn on the cob. Never have been. I LOVE corn, especially in the summer, but I just HATE eating it on the cob. My dad has always removed it from the cob for me, or else I just plain ignore it on the dinner table. Sad because when it’s in season, it’s so, so awesome. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to make this recipe so badly. I get to eat fresh corn on the cob, but off the cob!! Now where was my dad when I was cutting it off??

I shucked all the cobs and used a knife to cut all the corn off (myself!).

Then I heated about 3/4 T of butter and 1 T of EVOO in a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. I warmed it until it was almost smoking and then added half my minced garlic, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Use as much butter and EVOO as you feel is necessary, but this amount seemed to work for me.

Then I added in half the corn and stirred occasionally until tender, about 4 minutes.

Then I added in half the green onion and half the thyme and sautéed for another minute before seasoning with salt and pepper.

I removed the corn mixture to a big bowl and repeated the whole process with the other half of the ingredients.

Add the second batch of corn to the bowl and let cool to room temperature (stirring occasionally) for about 30 mins. I put mine in the fridge.

I chopped all my cherry tomatoes. On that note, can someone tell me WHY I can never take a good photo of tomatoes? Ugh. It’s just awful.

Anyway, then add the feta cheese. You can obviously use whatever kind you want, but I was SO excited when Athenos sent me the Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic variety. I didn’t even know it existed and figured it would go perfectly with the tomatoes and corn!

Can’t you just see the amazing flavors? I also threw in 1/2 T of the EVOO and some pepper (I didn’t think it would need any more salt). I put this in the fridge while the corn was cooling, too.

When the corn was cooled, I added the tomato/feta mixture to it. Plus I added in the basil and lime juice.

It’s one of those salads, that not only looks delicious, but it looks beautiful too! I LOVE bright summer salads.

Of course, I had a serving right away. And. This is exactly what I expect summer to taste like. I mean, come on, corn, tomatoes, basil? Does it get more summery than that? Oh, and the lime juice was a really awesome complement too.

I thought the flavored feta was the perfect touch. Though plain feta would have been totally fine.

Can you seriously blame me for not being sick of these feta salads yet? Even though I had this for lunch, I’ll probably have another serving later on. I’m planning on making tacos for dinner and think this salad will be the best side ever!

I really can’t think of any way this salad could have been any better. Unless I was sitting at a pool eating it… With a large glass of sangria in my hand. But I’m trying to be realistic here.

How do you like your corn on the cob? On the cob or off?

[Sues]

And since I have a pretty packed rest of the week (my best friend from college is getting married this weekend and I’m in the wedding!! So so so excited!!), I figured this dish would be good as leftovers for a quick bite to eat when we’re on the go. I knew I wanted to make a pasta with chicken sausage and feta and then I figured olives and broccoli would be nice additions. And lucky for my stomach, I was right!

Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Olives, Broccoli, and Feta (Serves 6-8)

• 1 lb. penne (whole wheat or not!)
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 links chicken sausage (I used sundried tomato)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 pound kalamata olives, or any olives of your choosing
• 1 C Athenos Feta ( I used the sundried tomato and basil variety)
• Freshly ground pepper

First things first, boil your pasta according to directions or your favorite way to do it. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot to set aside.

Now, you need cut the stems off your broccoli florets. Put about 1/2 C water in a large pan over medium heat. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes. When done, drain water and set aside.

While the broccoli was steaming, I chopped up all my other ingredients– the garlic, olives, and sausage.

Put the olive oil in a pan over medium and saute the garlic for about 2 minutes before adding your sausage. If you haven’t tried Al Fresco’s chicken sausage, you must! It’s amazing. And they sell it at Trader Joe’s AND my local Star Market grocery store. It’s already fully cooked, so I just made sure it was heated through and pretty golden-looking.

Once the sausage is good, throw the olives and broccoli into the pan, too. Stir together and make sure everything is heated nicely.

Now, throw the mixture into your pot of pasta. If you want, you can drizzle a little more olive oil to mix in. Put freshly ground pepper on top, too.

And serve! These were some of my favorite foods all sitting together in one delightful dish. For some reason, my olives were super salty (more so than usual), so I definitely didn’t need any added salt (side note. Is there an olive tasting class I can take? I need to learn more about olives!).

I ate a nice big bowl, but kind of wished I had either used less pasta or more of the other ingredients. No biggie though because I can just make sure to scoop more goodies for my next serving. Which is going to be in about 5 minutes. For lunch.

The chicken sausage/feta combo was sooo good!

Also? It was my first time eating the Tomato Basil Athenos Feta and I loved it! Dangerous though because it was totally the kind of thing I’ll find myself eating on its own. Not that I don’t do that with plain feta already.

Do you love chicken sausage? What’s your favorite kind?

Athenos Feta Friday Giveaway Winner!

The winner of our second Athenos Feta Friday Giveaway Winner is Kathy!! We’ll email you soon to get your info for the awesome feta gift pack! Congrats

[Sues]

Couscous and Feta-Stuffed Peppers (serves 4)

• 1 1/4 C fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
• 2/3 C couscous
• 4 extra-large bell peppers (any colors you like!)
• 2 t olive oil
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 6 oz. zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced across
• 6 oz. yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced across
• 1/2 t fennel seeds
• 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 15 oz. canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 C crumbled Athenos feta cheese
• 3 T tomato paste
  

I was dogsitting for the lovely Mitzi while I made this dish and let me tell you, it’s hard to cook in a kitchen you’re not used to. Not only for obvious reasons, but also because I just wasn’t used to the lighting and had a hard time adjusting my camera. Ugh. Let’s hope I can figure things out in my new apt. kitchen pretty quickly!

Anyway. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and coating a baking dish with cooking spray. Then cut the stems and top half inch of the peppers off and scoop out the seeds and membranes. And put the peppers in the baking dish. Like so:

Now, boil your chicken or vegetable broth in a saucepan. Add the couscous, cover the pan, and then remove it from the heat.

Once your oven is heated, pop the baking dish with the peppers in and roast them for about 15 minutes, until they soften. Then take them out and set them aside.

Now, you can start chopping. I didn’t measure out all my veggies and basically just used a small onion, zucchini, and squash.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and add the onion, zucchini, squash, fennel seeds, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes until vegetables soften.

Remove the mixture from the heat and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and chickpeas. Stir it all together.

Add the couscous into the mixture, mixing it in. Stir in the Athenoa feta.

Now you’re ready to fill the peppers with the couscous mixture.

Bake the peppers for 15 minutes.

And they’re ready to eat! I loved that this meal was so absolutely filling without involving any meat. I ate the peppers for dinner two nights in a row… And I actually ended up with a lot of extra filling, so I had the couscous salad with feta for some meals as well.

But the best part of the meal? The company that came along with it. Which involved my beautiful “cousin” Mitzi. If only everyone was lucky enough to have such an incredibly loving, happy dog in their lives. Her cheerfulness is infectious!

Peppers stuffed with couscous and feta and a beautiful little pup? Life is wonderful

[Sues]

Then I realized I could make “baked sweet potato thins” and put them in a salad. Oh, and top them with feta, obviously. I’m still going to call them fries though. Because fries just have a way of attracting people.

Baked Sweet Potato Fry Salad with Feta:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• ATHENOS Feta Cheese
• Whatever salad fixings you want… I used spinach (but didn’t photograph it because my thought process was so random).

Have you ever made sweet potato fries/thins before? They’re super easy and I highly recommend them. Normally I would use a mandoline to slice them, but I cut them by hand this time so you can see how easy it is.

First peel the potatoes. of course, I love my Chef’n Palm Peeler.

Once it’s peeled, cut off the ends.

Now, slice the potato in half the long way.

And then just cut slices along the side of the potato and you’ll end up with these:

You can try to make them all uniform shape or you can not worry so much about it. I like the variety of different sizes/widths. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then coat and mix with olive oil.

I baked my sweet potato thins at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Then I took them out of the oven, turned them all over (with tongs) and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes.

As you can see, I like my sweet potato fries a little burnt. Sweet potatoes most definitely do not crisp up like regular potatoes (especially since we’re baking and not frying them), so I like to try my best to crisp them a little more.

You could most obviously eat them just like this. With ketchup if you like (I am a ketchup fiend!!).

I put mine over a bed of spinach and sprinkled some ATHENOS Feta on top.

I also drizzled a little balsamic vinaigrette on my salad once i served it. This was seriously an awesomely unique take on a salad. I loved that it was different, but still very simple and fresh.

Of course, if you’re not into the whole salad thing, you could melt some feta on your sweet potato fries, for some wicked awesome cheesy fries. And I’m sure that would also be just perfect. But, you know, have some spinach on the side for the nutrient-factor.

I paired this salad with an easy swordfish with citrus pesto, which I’ll post for you later today (we don’t want to give you salad overload here at WANM!).

Feta Friday Giveaway:

Since it’s Friday (YAY! WOOT!) we’re holding another Feta Friday Giveaway. Here’s the sweet prize pack you could win:

• Free ATHENOS Feta coupon

• 1-month membership to LIfeTime Fitness

• ATHENOS Feta water bottle

• ATHENOS Feta recipe booklet

• Fit & Fresh Salad Container

• Built NY Lunch Bag

To enter, just leave a comment on this post letting us know what you’ll be cooking/eating this weekend by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.! Blog and tweet about the giveaway for extra entries!

Happy weekend!!

[Sues]

Here’s what you need:

• 4 boiled eggs, I kept the yolks of 2
• 1/4 cup cooked and drained frozen spinach
• 2 Tablespoons feta, I used 1 tablespoon Athenos traditional and 1 tablespoon Athenos lemon, garlic, and oregano for some added flavor (LOVE THIS!)
• 1 tablespoon parmesan
• 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt (original recipe calls for light sour cream, I like to substitute Greek yogurt in dishes when I have it on hand!)
• Salt and pepper to taste

mmmmmmmmmmm… hard boiled eggs are thebomb.com

I promised you this was simple… Just roughly chop the eggs and mix all of your ingredients together and you’re done!

On a piece of whole wheat toast, I arranged the egg salad on a thin layer of mayo and a bed of greens.

This was surprisingly good… I’m not going to lie I was a little skeptical of this healthier version! I normally make egg salad the old fashioned and classic way with mayo but this felt so clean and fresh! Not to mention I ate it about 4 hours ago and my “fullness” is just now wearing off. I think for tomorrow’s lunch I’m going to nix the bread and use the leftover egg salad IN an actual salad! Two salads for the price of one

Sorry for the short post but the cursor and mouse on my laptop is extremely possessed today and it’s already taken me over an hour just to get this post done! It keeps moving all over the place and deleting what I type! Whyyy?! Bringing it to the doctor tomorrow… It’s no way for a blogger to live!

[Chels]

1) Dwight Schrute on The Office. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica..

2) Doug Funny’s favorite band. You know, Killer Tofu.

3) Deliciousness.

#3 is all you really need to know for all intents and purposes of this post.

I just want to say that Athenos Summer Salad Month could not have come at a better time. At practically 100 degrees here in Boston, salads are definitely all I want to eat! OK, so this salad required me turning on my oven to 400 degrees (omg death), but it was worth it. Especially since I know just what I’m going to have for a snack today on this still sweltering afternoon.

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Mint:

• A bunch of beets (4-6)
• 3 T olive oil
• Sea salt
• 1/2 C fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 C crumbled feta cheese (I used Athenos Black Peppercorn Feta)
• 2 t lemon zest
• 1 T maple syrup

This was actually my very first time preparing beets! I was kind of excited, and now I have a feeling I’ll be making them quite often because they’re just so delicious.

I covered the beets in olive oil (about 2 T of the 3) and sea salt and then I wrapped each of them in foil.

Then I set my oven to 400 degrees (ughhhhh) and roasted the beets for about an hour.

I let them cool for a bit. And then under cold running water, I peeled the skins off.

Call me crazy, but I love doing stuff like that. Give me some peppers to roast and peel the skin off of and I’m a happy girl. Beets were just as fun.

I chopped the beets into bite-sized pieces, and mixed them with the feta, mint, lemon zest, 1 T olive oil, and maple syrup.

Annnd perfect (and like the easiest thing ever)! I was kind of annoyed because my mint actually froze in the fridge (yes, froze! the fridge is on a medium setting, so I have no idea why it did this). So, when it thawed it was all non-fresh looking and watery. But still delicious. It happened to my basil, too. Which I was planning on making pesto with later this week. Wah wah.

You can serve this salad right away, but I liked it best after it sat in the fridge for a while- it cooled down and all the flavors melded together. Yummmm. Beets really just taste like summer to me. And they’re one of the prettiest foods ever.

Next time I’ll be utilizing the beet greens, too (so healthy!). But it’s so hot here, that after 5 minutes out of the fridge, they looked all wilty and sad.

Do you like beets? How do you like them prepared?

[Sues]

Sangria while sitting in the sun at Brookline’s American Craft.

Along with a tomato, basil, and garlic mozzarella salad.

Chicken wings with honey mustard dipping sauce.

And fries with blue cheese fondue.

A 4th of July Red Sox game with my fabulous aunt and uncle.

The Sox lost 6-1, but we still had a good time. It was the most beautiful day for a Red Sox game. OK, mayyybe a little too hot, but there was a pretty nice little breeze.

Even Wally, the Green Monster, was dressed up.

I was wondering why Chris’s farmer’s tan looked like he was wearing a v-neck. Now I see why…

After the game, we met up with my sister and Adam for a delicious dinner on the patio at Bouchee. We indulged in some escargot.

And our very favorite flatbreads. Gruyere, Caramelized onion, and ham.

And sweet sausage, grape, and gorgonzola.

Then we met up with Chels and took a walk around the esplanade to watch Boston’s fireworks show.

Last year Chris and I got right up close for Neil Diamond’s show. We wanted to do the same this year to see Toby Keith, but we didn’t get there until pretty late. And I have horrible memories of the show ending last year and not even being able to move an inch for a half hour.

So, we kept a bit of distance, but had the perfect view of the fireworks.

And when the show was over, we weren’t stuck in huge mobs of people.

We kept saying how weird it was to be able to walk along Storrow Drive and walk along the exit we normally drive off of. Storrow is a really, really busy 3-lane road around Boston.

Monday has been all about relaxation (in the super hot weather!) and taking a HUGE trip to the grocery store. The fridge has been empty and desperately needed to be refilled.

Of course, the sweltering weather called for a light and refreshing salad. I decided to mix my feta with some fruit… If you’re apprehensive about the fruit/cheese together combo, don’t be! It’s one of the best things in the world. And since I’ve been craving mangoes lately, I made a mango feta salad.

Mango and Feta Salad:

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1/4 C crumbled Athenos feta
• 1 t minced basil
• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

This was an incredibly simple and quick salad. I actually bough 2 mangoes to make a larger salad, but one was not ripe at all. So, this was definitely gobbled up by me in about 3 minutes (or less).

All you need to do is cube and peel the mango. And mix with the feta, basil, EVOO, salt, and pepper.

I sprinkled some more feta on top too. And this was PERFECT!! The combination of sweet and salty is to die for. And this totally tasted like summer in a bowl.

I’m pretty sure mango is going to be one of my new go-to summer fruits and I will definitely be whipping up this salad again very soon!

What did you do this 4th of July weekend?

[Sues]