Too Hot to Cook?

It's bad when the dog days begin in July...kind of puts a damper on my enthusiasm to cook. But here we are in almost-mid-August, and ya gotta eat, right? I've been dreaming of cool salads and easy-to-make delights (not to mention a cook and a butler), and last night, I hit on it.

I had a bag of fresh pita which was a day away from becoming pita chips (baked with a shpritz of olive oil and a sprinkle of either garlic powder or za'atar)..let's see. What can I come up with?

FATOOSH! (also, I love saying that). Fatoosh is a bread and vegetable salad you can put together in 15 minutes and serve the masses. I shared it with my soul sistah in the building.

FATOOSH

serves 4 large salads or 6 side salads

5 cups lightly toasted pita, torn into 1" pieces

2 Persian/Israeli cucumber, diced

1/4 cup flat parsley, roughly chopped

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1/4 cup green, orange or red peppers (or mixed!)

2-3 tomatoes, diced (nice and ripe, NOT EVER refrigerated)

1 Romaine lettuce heart, torn into small pieces

3 garlic cloves, crushed (I cheated and used 3 frozen Dorot garlic cubes)

1/2 cup FRESH lemon juice

3/4 cup good quality EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine pita, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, scallions and parsley in a large (I mean it!) bowl and toss gently.

In a small bowl or dressing shaker, combine garlic, olive oil, mint and lemon juice. Mix well. Pour dressing over salad and serve immediately.

(See? I wasn't kidding about how quickly you can make this yummy dish!)

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