Wilted Spinach Salad with Greek flavors - May 16, 2011

This is a recipe entirely of my own design, inspired by the much richer (and totally delicious) bacon-y version of a wilted spinach salad but with the flavors of a greek salad. I decided to make it today because I had just enough spinach left in my container garden for one serving and Richie is out of town! I also had the added drama of rushing to finish clipping the spinach as the rain drops started and the thunder and lightening rolled in.

The recipe is essentially this: Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, toss in a chopped scallion, some chopped fresh oregano (both also from my container garden), a small garlic clove minced, and salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft, then add in the juice from half a lemon, swirl and pour over the baby spinach. Toss to wilt, then top with feta cheese and a sliced hard boiled egg. I think it would also be good with some sliced black olives, but I didn't have any in the house.

It is always a thrill to eat a fresh dish with several elements from the container garden. We still have some arugula and lettuce growing, but the minute our weather turns to the expected summer sauna I know they will both bolt. The snap peas are taking their sweet time... The vines are growing but we don't have any flowers at all yet. We've had a lot of nice cool pea growing weather, so I don't understand why they are behind this year. On the other hand, the tomatoes are growing beautifully. Lots of flowers and a couple tiny green babies already!