Monday 12 January 2015

Snow Pea and Asparagus Salad with Feta Cheese

You need such different varieties of salads over the summer months.
I made this and my hubby said "Wow you made a new salad, how wonderful!"
Not that he particularly likes feta cheese but it is only a small component of this salad and you can easily push it to the side of your plate.  Like a 5 year old is often compelled to do when confronted by something that looks strange, such as pureed spinach.



I have been reorganising my cook book collection.
Original Cookbook Order
Thinning it out, discarding some long ago used recipe books  and compiling the remaining books into cuisine, region and/or author. It was either that or buy another book shelf for the dining room which was a serious no win situation.

This took about 3 hours.  I kid you not, it was time consuming taking them all out, making a pile of ones to give to mum to sell at her church fete, then categorically placing the remaining books in a positive order.

Of course, I also had to double check that I really did not need the discarded cook books anymore.

You can see below the new and improved cookbook collection.
Funnily enough I am the only one who cares so it is really a treat for myself, but I smile every time I look in this direction.





Improved Cookbook Collection
Snow Pea and Asparagus Salad With Feta
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 5 cm lengths
200g snow peas, string removed
100g  feta cheese, rinsed to remove brine
handful fresh mint leaves
handful fresh dill leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
cracked black pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to the boil, put the snow peas in and cook for 1 minute.
Remove and run cold water over them in a colander.
Put asparagus spears into boiling water for 2 minutes then refresh in cold water as well.
Place vegetables into a serving bowl and allow to cool.
Chop the feta into chunks and scatter over top.
Sprinkle with chopped mint and dill.
Mix lemon juice with balasamic and olive oil and pour this over top.
Add pepper to taste, the feta should provide enough salt so check for flavour before adding any salt.


Tell me dear reader, do you sometimes go through and re-organise your cook books?

Buon appetito, Enjoy Merryn xx

34 comments:

  1. wow, what an amazing collection of cook books! I seldom sort mine out but I have been trying to make better use of them all :)

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    1. I do enjoy reading and collecting cookbooks Tandy πŸ˜ƒ

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  2. That's a great salad to get your greens in. I like the dressing too. I need to organize my cookbooks. They're everywhere.

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    1. This dressing is simple but delicious Maureen πŸ˜ƒ

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  3. Damn delciious healthy salad!!!

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    1. Thanks Dedy thisnis my kind of salad fresh and healthy.

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  4. That is a very impressive collection! Love the addition of fresh mint and dill to this salad. Such fresh summer flavours!

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    1. You can never have too many cookbooks they can be very inspiring πŸ‘†

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  5. Oh, I can see some great titles in your collection - Merryn - I adore my cook and food books and seldom cull them - I just never know when I might that one, or that one!:) BTW the salad looks fab.

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  6. I am feeling guilty maybe I should keep those throw out books but it is hard to keep everything Rachel. Glad yo like the salad😊

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  7. I don't think I could ever give away my cookbooks. I love them all so much mind you I don't have as many as you yet but I hope to have heaps one day. Love the look of your salad; feta + snowpeas = Delicious.

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    1. I have collected a few they are so enjoyable to read. I appreciate you liking the salad Liz.

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  8. Thank you for stopping by my blog! Your salad looks delicious and to answer your question, I have a handful of cooking books scattered throughout my disorganised home hehe. Seriously though i mostly follow online recipes but I do have a few cookbooks i would love to get my hands on in the near future.

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    1. Thank you for your visit. We can all learn so much from each other ...

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  9. The salad looks good - love snow peas. Kudos to you for organising the books and giving some away - I just buy another shelf!

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    1. Your partner must be more patient than mine although my brother said it is easier to buy another cooking book shelf, hubby's ears were closed.

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  10. That salad looks amazing!
    Melanie @ meandmr.com

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    1. Thank you Melanie I appreciate you stopping by to view this salad.

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  11. First off, look at that cookbook collection! For sure you won't run out of recipes! We are a fan of simple salads that are tasty and healthy, so one goes into the notebooks ;)

    Julie & Alesah
    Gourmet Getaways xx

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    1. Yes simple salads are the backbone for easy living :D

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  12. We have way too many cookbooks -- at last 300, probably quite a few more than that. Need to get rid of them, but it's so hard to do! Anyway, lovely salad -- really nice combo of flavors. Thanks.

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    1. I know John it is hard to do. l discarded about 30 books but they were very old eg casserole cookbooks. Enough said. I would like to see your collection!

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  13. I need to go through it but I haven't! I started off well but then things got really cramped! :P

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    1. Were you surrounded by books Lorraine? I know it is so hard to do, it took me four years to get around to doing it :D x

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  14. I am always up for some new salad inspiration...especially if feta is involved!

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    1. You can never have too many salads Joanne :D

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  15. I, unlike your husband, love feta! So a salad with feta is right up my alley

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    1. I too love feta, it is such a fresh addition to, well almost any salad, thanks Dani :D

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  16. This gets me so excited for garden season when we grow our own snow peas! I can't wait!

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    1. Don't you just love growing your snow peas! They are such a fresh, inspiring vegetable.

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  17. What a very lovely salad. I love the greenness of it. And how nice to have a touch of feta. And that's a long time to be reorganising your cookbooks but you must feel so good now that it's all done xx

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    1. Believe me it is refreshing to clear out the clutter, I am so pleased you enjoy feta with a salad too xx

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  18. A needed project for my magazine shelf :) but the problem is that I cannot get rid of any cooking magazine or cookbook!!! I feel so attached to them and keep telling myself I'll do this I'll do that I will def. need this for future reference hahahaha... Loved your salad so light and healthy.

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    1. Thanks Amira, I know your cookbooks become like old friends. They are familiar and you are fond of them :D

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