Greek Chopped Salad

Lately, my 13-year-old daughter Celia has taken a special liking to Greek salad. Lucky for me, Celia has liked salad ever since she was a baby. When she was on my lap at restaurants, she used to snag pieces of lettuce from my plate and gleefully stuff them in her mouth. For most of Celia's life, Caesar salads were her very favorite, but recently I've noticed her loyalties are shifting. When we were at an airport café last month heading home from spring break, Celia and I both ordered the Greek salad, while Solomon and Andrew ordered chili. I experienced a special kind of pleasure, sitting at the restaurant table with my daughter, thoroughly enjoying our salads together, nourishing ourselves before the long flight home.

This week, Celia asked me to pack a Greek salad for her school lunch. This version of Greek salad is more of a main course than a side dish, and it's a wonderful option for your Memorial Day picnic or barbecue. You can leave out the beans and tuna and reduce the amount of dressing if you want to serve it on the side. If you aren't serving it right away, store the tomatoes and cucumbers separately from the rest of the ingredients so the salad doesn't get soggy. Serve it with baked pita chips.