Last week Adam and I headed to Millennium park to hear the Grant Park Orchestra play Mozart’s Mass in C minor.  You might not know, but I actually have a degree in music and while I don’t do much with it at this point in my life, I still love listening to performances.

This concert in the park was a lot like Ravinia.  Free for the lawn seats and you can bring a picnic and chairs and set up camp while listening to some good music.  You can pay to sit in the bowl of the park, but why pay when you can still hear the performance AND eat.  Food and music.  My two loves. And Adam, of course.

So I knew I needed to come up with some simple and easily transportable food for dinner.  I tried out these bean burgers from Minimalist Baker and they were phenomenal.  I had mine wrapped in butter lettuce and got a few buns for my bread-loving husband.  I also came up with this simple Greek salad but added a little twist by spiralizing the cucumbers.  The dressing is equally as simple and it also works great as a marinade (more on that in a later post….)

Whether you have a concert in the park or a summer party to attend, this is a great dish to bring along.   If you have time, make it the night before so the dressing can really soak into the salad.  This is one of those dishes that taste better over time.

Spiralized Greek Salad 

• 1 large cucumber
• 8 oz of cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 2/3 cup Kalamata olives, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced thinly

For the dressing: 

• 1 tsp dried minced garlic
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp spicy mustard
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Rinse and dry the cucumber and then spiralize.  If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can also slice the cucumber however you would like.  Once you spiralize the cucumber cut up the noodles a little so they are easier to manage.  Place into a large bowl.
3. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and then add the rest of the vegetables to the cucumber.  Stir to combine everything.
4. Quickly stir the dressing again and then pour about half of it over the salad.  Stir everything so all the vegetables are coated and then cover and store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.  You can add more dressing before eating if needed.  

I know I have been giving you a lot of simple recipes lately and A LOT of recipes that don’t require a heat source.  It’s summer.  It’s hot and ridiculously humid.  And honestly, I’m struggling to come up with a ton of super creative meals lately.  I know I’ll get my creative juices flowing again soon, but for now I’m just going to share the few things I have going on in my kitchen right now.  Thanks for sticking around and enjoy!