 |
| Almost looks like summer… |
Ohhhhh….! Is anyone else feeling the holiday sugar overload?
I have eaten way to much sugar over the past couple of weeks, and exercised far too little. The combination of feeling compelled to try out all my favorite Christmas sweets, combined with the howling, blowing, snowy weather outside is soon going to spell disaster for my waistline and my fitness level.
But lest you think that my diet consists of nothing but cookies, chocolate, and chocolate-covered sea salt caramels and peanut brittle these days, here’s something I threw together for lunch one day this week that would make a great appetizer for a party as well. Surprisingly – we are still getting tomatoes with good flavor, and since there are so few ingredients in this dish, they should all be pretty fresh. You can substitute endive for the baby gem lettuce and use mint or basil instead of parsley – it’s all good.
So lay off the sugar if only briefly, and try a round of these. The colors fit right into the holiday season and you’ll feel a lot better after a plateful of this than you will after your third cookie. Trust me.
And then strap on your snow shoes and make good use of the fresh powder out there!
Cherry Tomato & Feta on Baby Gem Lettuce
2 heads of Baby Gem Lettuce
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 package feta cheese, diced
small bunch of fresh parsley, mint or basil (or combination) chopped – about 6 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Separate the leaves of the Baby Gem Lettuce from the stem; wash & spin or pat dry. In a small bowl, mix tomatoes, feta, herbs and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lay the Baby Gem lettuce leaves on two separate plates if eating as a salad or on a larges serving platter if serving as an appetizer. Fill each of the lettuce leaves with the Tomato & Feta mixture. Serve immediately.