feeding time at the zoo

I've been inspired / intimidated by Carrie's recent posts on the feeding of Figs. I am by no means a great cook, and I fully admit to relying way too much on pre-prepared foods. That said, I do try to limit foods with preservatives and keep things as simple (and easy) as possible. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of our favourite recipes:

Greek Couscous:
2 cups bulk couscous, cooked and chilled
1 seedless cucumber, finely chopped
1 package grape tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
a handful of pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped
1 8 oz package of crumbled feta
greek dressing to taste (my favourite greek dressing recipe can be found here)

Toss everything together, chill and enjoy. We usually have this with pre-made spanakopita, and some extra kalamata olives on the side.

Our Favourite Salad:
Organic mixed greens
walnuts
dried cranberries
crumbled gorgonzola
Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette

Veggie Quesadillas:
1/2 vidalia onion, cut into thin rings
1 red pepper, cut into thin slices
2 large carrots, cut into thin disks
(I may also add any or all of the following: broccoli florets, portobello mushrooms, sauteed spinach, zucchini, whatever other veggies I have on hand.)
Lots of shredded pepper jack cheese
Tortillas

Grill all veggies in a skillet with a little butter (the carrots obviously take the longest). when those are done, set them aside in a bowl and begin assembling quesadillas. Layer cheese and veggies inside tortilla, fold and grill. garnish with sour cream, guacamole, salsa.

Our other favourite salad:
finely chopped romaine lettuce
finely chopped roma tomatoes
finely chopped green onions
finely chopped avocado
crumbled gorgonzola
ditallini pasta, cooked and chilled
sweet italian vinaigrette dressing (we usually use Portillo's house dressing, but here's a recipe that looks to be similar)

non-vegetarians may also add bacon and /or chicken to this salad.

Moroccan Carrot and Goat Cheese Sandwiches with Green Olive Tapenade:
This may be my new favourite sandwich-- the flavours go together incredibly well! It was inspired by a sandwich at Alice's Tea Cup a place that's been on my hit list for my next trip to New York.

Here's the recipe

I think a good bread makes all the difference. We used a great crusty Italian bread and it was fantastic. We'll try pumpernickel next time. I also substituted a little extra sea salt for the anchovy fillet in the tapenade.

Anybody else have any good vegetarian suggestions? I'm all ears!