Mediterranean Salad

Posted on March 26, 2011 by glutenfreezen

It seems like it’s been a really long winter around these parts. Last summer went by much too quickly and wasn’t as warm as usual. Then fall and winter hit and now we’re into March with rain and still having some pretty chilly days. We’re starting to get into camping mode and really wanting to spend some more time outside, so my husband thought it would be fun to plan a little road trip and picnic today. It was just what the Dr. ordered to get rid of the winter blues! Even though the weather was a bit chilly, it didn’t rain until we were on our way home. It was wonderful to just sit and chat during our picnic and watch the dogs play in the sand and water.

I filled our picnic basket with sandwiches, veggies, sea salt chips, a couple of Cutie oranges, fresh-cut pineapple, a Mediterranean salad, water, a couple of beers, and a few of the jam thumbprint cookies I made a couple of days ago. It’s so much easier and healthier to pack our own food for a nice, relaxing, picnic than to try to find some greasy spoon out in the middle of nowhere where I can get something gluten and dairy-free.

This was the first time I’ve made the salad and it was really good and extremely easy. It was fabulous as a picnic salad, which means it will also work well for camping when the weather warms up a bit.

Mediterranean Salad

1 – 15oz Can of White Beans

1 – 150z Can of Garbanzo Beans

1 1/2 Tbsp. Basil, chopped

2 Tbsp. Oregano, chopped

2 Tbsp. Parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp. Garlic, chopped

15 Pitted Kalamata Olives, sliced in half lengthwise

15 Small Grape Tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

About 1/2 of a Small Red Onion, sliced

1/2 Block of Sheep’s Milk Cheese, crumbled

1/8 Cup Olive Oil

1/4 – 1/2 Cup Basil & Oregano Rice Vinegar

About 2 Grinds of Sea Salt

About 4-6 Grinds of Good Pepper

Rinse and drain both cans of beans.

Once beans have drained, pour into a medium size bowl. Add chopped herbs and sliced vegetables, garlic and olives, stir with spatula to combine.

Pour olive oil and vinegar into a measuring cup and whisk to combine. Pour over salad.

Stir carefully to combine. Allow flavors to meld at least one hour before serving.

I’ll sneak in a picture of Romeo and Abigail, our sweet babies. Romeo is on the right and is 2 years old, Abigail is on the left and turned 1 on Valentine’s Day. ♥ Our other sweet baby is human and 18… and opted to stay home and hang out with friends instead. Us old people are a little boring. Wink, wink.