Change is in the Air -- A New Look and a Cookbook Giveaway to Celebrate!

When I started playing with flour back in April, I hinted there were changes in the works at OMG! Yummy. Well, the changes are here and I thought I would celebrate with a giveaway - a signed copy of Mollie Katzen's Get Cooking cookbook!

August is all about transitions – teenagers leaving for college, kids changing grades and schools, daylight disappearing a little sooner each night, lazy days returning to a frantic school pace, and the unplanned eating style of summer morphing into menu planning and time management.

Sometimes, inspiration is just what we need to adjust to change. So to celebrate my blog transformation and an August full of transitions, I offer you some inspiration and motivation in the form of Mollie Katzen's cookbook get cooking. It is the perfect starter cookbook for an apartment-dwelling college student, new college grad, or a pace-addict parent searching for easy, healthy, fun meals to put on the table night-after-night.

In case you don’t already know her, Mollie Katzen is the brilliance behind the The Moosewood Cookbook, considered the harbinger and inspiration for the vegetarian cooking revolution in this country. From her bio: "She has over 6 million books in print, is listed by the New York Times as one of the best-selling cookbook authors of all time. A 2007 inductee into the prestigious James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame, and largely credited with moving healthful vegetarian food from the "fringe" to the center of the American dinner plate, Ms. Katzen has been named by Health Magazine as one of "The Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat." In addition she is a charter member of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Roundtable and an inaugural honoree of the Natural Health Hall of Fame."

I was lucky enough to hear her speak in February and just loved her friendly, warm style and engaging content. A highlight of the evening for me was when she asked us a series of questions including “What is your first food memory of your childhood” as well as “What is the first time you realized that food grows in the ground and not in the freezer, pantry, or a can?” She had the whole room laughing, reminiscing, and searching through our brains for tasty morsels from our childhood.

Though the book is intended for new cooks, as an experienced cook, I find the ideas just as inspiring. I prepared the greek salad one evening, using up some pickled onions I had in the fridge and enjoying the unusual twist of the sherry vinegar in the dressing. The vinegar change was a suggestion in the “get creative” section found at the end of each recipe. Below is the Greek Salad recipe, shared with Ms. Katzen's permission.

How to enter the giveaway:

Just leave a comment below and tell me what your first fond food memory is from your childhood (or memory flavor). For more entries in the random drawing you can also:

• Subscribe to my blog by email (in Follow box or envelope in header)
• Follow my Facebook page
• Follow me on Twitter on my new handle @omgyummy
• Add me to your circles on Google plus or +1 this post
• Pin this post or follow me on Pinterest

The only requirement for entry into the random drawing is to leave the comment about your first happy food memory of your childhood – you can opt to enter multiple times with the social media choices but that's entirely up to you. If you do, let me know in another comment so I am sure to give you credit for your effort!

The giveaway is open for entry until Sunday night August 12 at midnight. A winner will be drawn at random using random.org.

Good luck, enjoy the rest of summer, and please get cooking!

(A huge thank you to Andrew Wilder of blogtutor.com who managed my blog redesign and move to a self-hosted wordpress.org platform)

Mollie Katzen's 'get cooking' Greek Salad with Oregano-Laced Vinaigrette

An easy go-to salad to accompany chicken, fish, or beef or a lovely main course accompanied by bread and a cup of soup.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Total Time 10 mins

Cuisine Greek

Servings 4 servings

Calories 332 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salad

• 1 pound salad greens washed and dried or three 5-ounce pkgs (romaine is really nice for a greek salad)
• 12 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 medium cucumber peeled, seeded, and sliced
• 1 medium bell pepper any color, diced
• 1 medium red onion thinly sliced (I had picked onions and used those)
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 12 Kalamata olives if not pitted, warn your eaters
• Freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar I used sherry vinegar suggested in her Creative ideas section and it was lovely
• ¼ teaspoon minced garlic about half small clove
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano double that amount if using fresh
• Heaping ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

 

• To make the dressing, combine the vinegar, garlic, mustard, oregano, and salt in a smallish bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined, then continue whisking as you drizzle in the olive oil. When all the olive oil is incorporated, set the dressing aside. (Or you can put all the ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and just shake it emphatically.)
• Combine the salad greens, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and ½ cup of the feta in a large bowl, and toss to mix well.
• Just before serving, whisk the dressing - or shake it, if it's in a jar - to recombine, and add about half of it to the salad. Toss to coat, and give it a taste. You might want to add the rest of the dressing right now, or bring it to the table (along with the pepper mill) for people to add more to their own portions. Top with the remaining ½ cup feta, the olives, and a few grinds of black pepper, and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 332kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 8gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 659mgPotassium: 534mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2730IUVitamin C: 80.4mgCalcium: 236mgIron: 2.1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!