By The real estate market is strong this week. I showed 4 properties and closed on 1. The pipeline is strong. The phone rings with the steady rhythm of a business that has taken six years to build and refuses to slow down.
I drove to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner. The drive takes forty minutes if the traffic behaves. It never behaves. But I make the drive because the table at Mama's house is non-negotiable, and Sunday dinner is the thread that holds this family together.
I thought about Baba this week. Not the grief — the grief is always there, a familiar companion now — but the man. The way he stood at the bakery counter with his arms crossed. The way he hummed Greek songs he never knew the words to. The way he loved us in silence, which was the loudest love I have ever known.
I made a watermelon and feta salad with fresh mint and olive oil. Sweet, salty, refreshing — the taste of summer distilled into a bowl. The kitchen smelled like honey and butter and I thought: this is what survives. Not the money or the stress or the arguments about phyllo. The food survives. The recipes survive. The love baked into every dish survives.
The house was quiet this evening. I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and the remains of dinner and I thought about all the tables I have sat at — Mama's table in Tarpon Springs, the table in the South Tampa house I lost, the table in the apartment where I started over, this table where I have fed my children for years. Every table is a different chapter. The food connects them all.
The watermelon and feta were a moment of pure instinct — sweet, salty, the kind of combination that feels like summer remembering itself. When I went back to the kitchen the next evening, I wanted something in the same spirit: fresh, honest, and just a little peppery to cut through the quiet. This arugula and beet salad has become my answer to those still evenings at the kitchen table, the ones where the wine is cold and the house is finally calm. It’s the kind of salad Baba would have called “real food” — nothing fussy, nothing hidden.
Easy Arugula Beet Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 5 oz baby arugula
- 1 (15 oz) can sliced beets, drained (or 2 medium roasted beets, sliced)
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or candied pecans
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the salad. Spread the arugula across a large serving platter or in a wide bowl. Arrange the beet slices evenly over the top.
- Add toppings. Scatter the red onion slices, crumbled goat cheese (or feta), and toasted walnuts over the salad.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad just before serving. Toss gently or serve as-is for a more composed presentation. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 280mg