I am not a Chef, but I do Love to Cook!

Recently, several people in OA have asked me for abstinent recipes. So I thought I'd start a recipe section on my blog. None of my recipes are truly original. They are all adapted from other recipes. The Food Network, "Cooking the RealAge Way", etc. Even my first cookbook, "The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet" has recently provided me with some fresh ideas.

Often, I start with a "new" ingredient, research that ingredient and find several recipes. I then combine those recipes into something I like. So I will share my recipes and give lots of variations. Since most of what I prepare involves fruits and vegetables, whatever I make that day is dependent on what I have on hand or perhaps what looked especially good at the market. If I make the same recipe next week, I will have a different combination on hand.

When I was in New York recently, my friend and I went to a neighborhood Turkish restaurant. There I had a Shepherd Salad. Since I'm not a big fan of lettuce (any kind), I am always interested in a salad made without lettuce. Once back home, I found several recipes and have put some of them together. What most of them have in common is tomato, cucumber and onion as the ingredients and olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and parsley for the dressing. So here are some variations. Enjoy!

Basic Shepherd Salad #1

• 2 cucumbers, peeled & diced


• 2-3 tomatoes, diced & seeded


• 1 red onion, chopped


• 1 stalk celery, chopped


• 2 teaspoons good extra virgin olive oil


• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar


• salt & freshly ground black pepper


• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and celery in a salad bowl. Add vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Top with feta.

For variety: add red pepper flakes for a kick. Or add fennel seeds. Or add parsley and dill. Or any of these in combination!
To change up the salad, add shredded carrots, radishes, green onions.

Tip: When I don't have fresh parsley on hand, I use dried cilantro as a substitute.

Basic Shepherd Salad #2 (with lemon juice)

• 2 cucumbers, peeled & diced


• 2-3 tomatoes, diced & seeded


• 3 green onion (white part only, sliced) or 1 red or white onion, chopped


• 1/2 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped


• 2 tablespoons lemon juice


• 2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil


• salt & freshly ground black pepper


• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Place all the vegetables in a medium size salad bowl. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and optional feta.

For variety: add balsalmic vinegar, shredded carrots, use mint instead of parsley or add dill. Add red pepper flakes for that kick!