I found this Brownie Girl Scout Beanie at an estate sale. I was a Brownie, and my daughter was a Brownie, and we both just could not get excited about being Brownies. Maybe it was the hat, described as “a six section beanie with loop at top.” The Girl Scouts website states that it is made of “rayon/wool felt,” immediately followed by the statement that it is made of “100% polyester felt.” So confusing, but really, it doesn’t matter — it could be made of cashmere and it would still look goofy. The little dancing figure on it always looked vaguely sinister to me:
Current beanies have blue figures, which look less evil:
My kids attended a middle school that was housed in a Greek Orthodox Church. One day when I was picking up my son, a Brownie scout walked by. My son pointed to her and said, “Look, she has a baklava on her head!” He had recently been to a bar mitzvah, and meant to say she had a yarmulke on her head, but given that we were in front of the Greek church, confusing a Greek pastry with a Jewish skullcap was understandable and smirk-worthy.
Inspired by the Brownie beanie and Greek middle school memories, I made a Greek salad. I believe purists would argue that a real Greek salad does not have lettuce, but I am neither Greek nor a purist, and I kinda like it with lettuce. Some people like to add anchovies, but we think they look like eyebrows and don’t add them to anything. But really, it’s all about the dressing. I’ve included photos for two different ways to prepare it, as a tossed salad and as a composed salad. As with any vegetable salad, you can adjust the ingredients and amounts to suit your tastes.
- For dressing:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 medium clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For salad:
- 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 12 grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced into ¼" thick slices
- 1 small red or green bell pepper (optional), sliced into ¼" rings
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 12 Kalamata olives, pitted
- 12 pepperoncini
- Optional salad ingredients -- sliced celery, capers, sliced radishes
- 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- Place all dressing ingredients in a jar, and shake vigorously to combine. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.
- Place all salad ingredients except feta cheese in a large bowl and toss to combine. (Note: All salad ingredient measurements are approximate -- vary amounts as desired.) Pour dressing in desired amount over salad and toss to combine. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve. (This salad is especially nice served on chilled plates.)
It’s all about the dressing
Just lettuce eat our Greek salad
Prepare it as a composed salad, but only if you like the sound of oohs and ahs