Chickpea, Cucumber, Tomato and Feta salad {It's a side dish but it's also a pita sandwich!}

Last week my eating patterns were way off. Always happens when Doug leaves town....I seem to eat late and I usually just toss a meal together from leftovers in the fridge.  Ok, I did treat myself to sushi one day for lunch.  That was great.

One evening I made my egg and rice stir fry and stayed up late to finish my latest Peter Robinson book. For dinner the following night I made a salad with chickpeas, tomatoes, olives and feta.  I stuffed a pita pocket with it and had a nice light dinner.  There was enough salad leftover to serve as a side with a Greek Shrimp Scampi for dinner once Doug was home.



He had to go to Marathon in the Keys but it's not as great as you'd think.  Fly down for a meeting and then back again the next evening.  No time to enjoy that tropical part of our state.  To make things complicated, he couldn't get a flight back until near 11:00 P.M. and that means I drive to the airport late.  In the dark.  If your vision isn't great that can be a scary expedition so.....and this was probably stupid......I left super early and sat in the short term parking and watched a movie on my tablet!  Crazy, huh? :-)

The following evening the good life begins when we can make a meal and enjoy it on our covered porch.  Sit and sip wine, talk, eat seafood and watch a couple of foxes eating the leftovers I leave on a tree stump.  I think our actual home could be smaller and we'd be fine as long as we had a covered porch.  It's just about the best room of all.



Here is the recipe for the salad.  Obviously a recipe is more like a guideline so substitute where you like and make it per your taste.   Summer salads are always so good!


Chickpea, cucumber, tomato and Feta salad

• Ingredients
• 1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 15 grape tomatoes, halved (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup pitted  olives
• 1 medium cucumber, sliced 
• 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled or cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 
  
• Dressing:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place all salad ingredients into a large bowl and toss to combine.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano. Pour onto salad and toss again to well combine. Taste and add salt and pepper as you'd like.

Linking up to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday and with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.




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