Happy Monday everyone!!
We finally have all 4 burners on our stove up and running–hallelujah! Of course, that still doesn’t change the fact that they’re electric and not gas, but there’s not much I can do about that, I suppose. But now, at least we can cook rice and pasta while we get the rest of the dinner underway. That will certainly help shorten our time in the kitchen!
We’ve been spending the past week continuing to get familiar with the town, and even have been doing a few things that don’t involve eating. Crazy, I know. And the never ending saga of unpacking, buying furniture, decorating, etc has been going on in full force. I may have a few DIY projects up my sleeve to share with you eventually.
Speaking of moving, want to learn a few things I learned (the hard way) about moving cross country? I thought so.
1. Don’t wrap white picture frames, or really anything that’s pretty light in color, with newspaper. Why? Because the newspaper will rub off and create permanent stains on everything. Bummer.
2. Place all of your spices in individual baggies because the heat in the moving van will cause the lids to pop, sending paprika, cumin, cinnamon…absolutely everywhere.
3. Don’t pack a 3/4 full container of $3 bleach. Trust me, it’s not worth it.
4. Be careful how and where you wrap furniture with blankets–if that blanket is touching the hot metal and the top of your dining table, it will melt onto your table and the top will need to be refinished. Luckily it needed to be refinished anyway!
5. Count your boxes. Or you just might forget the box with all of the computer cords and have a grouchy husband. You’ll still have the computer, but you just won’t be able to use it unless you have awesome parents who find the box (where you left it in plain sight) and mail it to you.
Despite the learning experience, we still only managed to have 1 broken wine glass (it was free anyway), 1 broken ($5) picture frame, and 3 corroded picture frames, one of which I managed to save. All of my precious Heath Ceramics made it one piece, so I’m a pretty happy camper.
Yesterday, I asked all my facebook pals (follow me here!) what to do with the abundance of lettuce I suddenly found in my fridge and everyone had such fun answers. Looking around at what I had on hand, and being as I crave this all the time, I decided to make a salad version of my greek favorite: falafel pita.
Tzatziki for salad dressing, pre-made falafel (that’s what happens when you start making dinner at 8!), olives, fresh farmer’s market tomatoes, onions, and lettuce, and some hummus and pita bread on the side for good measure.
Hope you enjoy–and please please share any other main dish salad ideas in the comments, I always need ideas that will convince Jeff that salad for dinner is the cool thing to do.
Falafel Pita Salad
Serves 2
Ingredients:
12 small pieces falafel, baked (I used these)
4 cups lettuce, washed and dried
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/2 cup manzanilla or kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 cup garlic hummus
2 pieces pita bread, toasted and cut into slices
Tzatziki Sauce:
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon salt
Steps:
Divide lettuce, falafel, tomatoes, onions, and olives evenly into two salad bowls.
Add half of the hummus and pita bread to the side of the bowl.
Top with tzatziki sauce, below.
Tzatziki Sauce:
