Greek Salad for Breakfast

I am very fond of Greek salad but don't very often have it. Jim doesn't like olives and, in any case, these days doesn't really eat salad. Lindsey and I often have salad with our lunch on Wednesdays but she too doesn't like olives. No Greek salad on Wednesdays. In fact, no Greek salad at all, or none to speak of.

Yesterday, Jim and I went to Macedon to have lunch at Chris and John's house. Gillie and Irene were also there. We had what was effectively a ploughman's platter to begin, sat outside on what was a warm but VERY windy day. When we six meet for lunch we usually start with something fizzy to drink. Jim doesn't like fizzy wine so I took a can of a locally brewed beer for him. I was driving and was thinking of taking a bottle of sparkling water for my fizzy starter. Then I found a bottle of Brown Brothers' no-alcohol Prosecco in the IGA so I took that instead. It was really rather nice. I must look out and see if they have any more.

We went inside for lunch proper. Chris had prepared a delicious lamb meal, accompanied by baby potatoes, green things, a pumpkin and beetroot salad - and a Greek salad! I'm not sure if I have mentioned it but I do like Greek salad. I am rather fond of Greek style lamb and baby potatoes as well. And green things. Not to mention pumpkin and yellow beetroot. It was all very delicious. As was the raspberry sort of Eton Mess we had for dessert. 

I sent a message to Chris this morning, thanking her for a lovely afternoon and the magnificent Sunday lunch. I was thinking about Greek salads, and then thought that I have most of the things you need for a Greek salad in my kitchen and garden. I had a couple of sad looking cucumbers, but they were fresh enough when I cut them up. I had cherry tomatoes from the local tomato farm. I had feta and olives and herbs and onion and garlic and mint. I chopped things up, put them together and decided that, with the addition of a small can of tuna, it would all a magnificent breakfast make (minus the garlic and onion as not necessarily being breakfast foods in my world). I had picked up some nectarines at the market on Saturday so also had one of those, chopped up on the side.

We should have Greek salads for breakfast more often (although Jim had his usual of toast, mushroom, egg, bacon and tomato).

It was rather a good weekend all round. Lindsey and I went to the Lakeside market on Saturday morning. It was a glorious day and the lake and market were very busy. We went out to the mushroom farm. Then I went home and had a Japanese lesson and Lindsey and Ian went to Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula for a couple of nights. Jim and I had steak sandwiches for dinner on Saturday evening, with lots of things from the market and steak from the local butcher. Last night we didn't need much, having had a three course lunch, so I steamed some of Chris and John's green beans (mine are still flowers, or teeny tiny) and some of my little zucchini and some of the market's asparagus which we had with a poached egg each. I even managed not to set fire to my new bamboo steamer 😂

We came up to Rupert and Hugo's house today at lunchtime. As I walked in there was no sign of any Great Danes. Not a waggy tail at the door, nor any perked up ears. No bark, no happy dance. Nothing. No Great Danes in the lounge room snoozing on the couch. I stood in the hallway and squeaked the new squeaky toys I had brought for them. There was a teeny, tiny woof. I looked in Lindsey's bedroom - and there they were, on her bed, heads slightly up, looking to see who had come in and what action they may need to take. When they realised it was Frannie The Bringer of Food (and Squeaky Toys) they jumped off the bed, tails all a-waggy. I have no idea what they might have done had I been Brenda the Burglar. I suspect they might just have shrugged and gone back to sleep 😱

I dug up two roots of potatoes this morning. I only meant to dig up one because I know they aren't ready yet but I was curious to know what was underneath them, and two roots came up accidentally. Not a bad little crop all things considered.  There may well be more; I didn't rummage properly. I'll give it all a proper digging over when the potatoes are finished and I am preparing the bed for the miniature apple tree I have planned. 

Oh - and I chucked some wizened, dehydrated, desiccated kipfler seed potatoes into the other apple tree bed a couple of weeks ago. I found them in the back of a cupboard when I was clearing it out. I figured they were well past being viable seed potatoes so chucked them in with a load of soil and other stuff I am prepping that bed with. Potatoes are clearly valiant and redoubtable. At least three of those "dead" potatoes have sprouted this weekend! I've watered them and will leave them to get on with it and see what they come up with.