Greek-ish Tomato Avocado Salad -- When the Pan Comes Back Empty

I listed 3 new properties this week — each one a different story, a different kitchen, a different family waiting to happen. The spring market is alive with the particular energy of people who have decided this is the year they change their address and their life.

Alexander called from USF this week. He is busy and building a life with the quiet competence of a young man who watched his mother rebuild from nothing and decided that building is what Papadopouloses do. He still does not call Yia-yia enough. He never will.

The bakery smelled like honey this morning when I stopped by. That smell — warm honey and butter and the faint yeast of dough rising — is the smell of my childhood and my mother and my father and every Sunday morning of my life. Some smells are time machines. The bakery is mine.

I made cold cucumber soup — Greek yogurt blended with cucumber, garlic, and dill. Refreshing in a way that defies its simplicity. Sophia ate 2 servings and said nothing, which means it was good. Alexander ate 3 and asked for more. The pan was empty by nine. Empty pans are the highest form of flattery in this kitchen.

The weeks pass and I am learning that life at 50 is not what I expected at twenty-five. It is messier, harder, more beautiful. The moussaka is better because my hands have made it more times. The career is stronger because the failures taught me what the successes could not. And the love — the love I pour into every dish, every showing, every Sunday drive to Tarpon Springs — is bigger now because I have lost enough to know what it costs.

The cold cucumber soup was the star of the evening, but this Greek-ish Tomato Avocado Salad was its quiet companion — something I threw together because the tomatoes on the counter were begging to be used and because a table that holds a family, even briefly, deserves more than one bowl. It is the kind of recipe that asks almost nothing of you and gives back everything: color, brightness, the faint brininess of olives and feta that pulls me straight back to Tarpon Springs every single time. When both bowls came back empty, I counted it the same way I count all good things at fifty — with gratitude, and without surprise.

Greek-ish Tomato Avocado Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 ripe avocados, diced
• 1/2 English cucumber, diced
• 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Prep the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the avocados and cucumber into similar-sized pieces, and thinly slice the red onion. Add them all to a large mixing bowl along with the Kalamata olives.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper until combined.
3. Combine and toss. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to coat, taking care not to mash the avocado.
4. Finish and serve. Top with crumbled feta and chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately for the freshest flavor.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 420mg