With the weather starting to warm up and summer just around the corner, I’ve found myself craving the crisp freshness of garden salads. Salads are always popular in our house even during the colder months. In winter we tend to make them heartier with and toss in ingredients like roasted beets and warm slices of chicken. Summer salads, however, are extra special since we get all our vegetables fresh and organic right out of our own garden.

My all time favorite salad is Greek salad. My grandparents retired to Greece and this salad is always a staple in their kitchen. The flavors are wonderfully evocative of warm, Mediterranean days. When I think of Greek salad, the vegetables are still warm and slightly soft from the sun. They are swimming in thick, dark olive oil and the feta is rich and crumbly. A Greek salad is my idea of comfort food at it’s finest.

Of course, the best thing about Greek salad is you don’t need to be Greek or live in Greece to enjoy it. You can find all the vegetables ate your local farmers market and they are some of the easiest and cheapest to grow at home.

Here is my recipe for a lovely, simple Greek salad that you can toss up at a moments notice and serve up with a glass of chilled wine.