24 April 2008

Tomato Feta Salad for "Combat Cancer 2"


Many bloggers have brought two very important events to my attention with their support for two events that have caught my eye and my heart strings. First I made Lemony Goat Cheese & Asparagus Stuffed Rouladen for Barbara’s LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow event to support cancer awareness.

Chris at Melle Cotte , and a cancer survivor herself, has an event Combat Cancer 2 . It is an event about the support of our friends and family members who have been touched by cancer. Many of us have suffered the loss of a relative or someone close to you who has been hit by this illness, or, perhaps we are battling and winning over the disease ourselves. Working for a respirologist I see friends and patients every day struggling with the disease. We just need to give the big "C" the old one two... the big heave ho.... a kick in the butt with research and knowledge. The more informed we are the better we are able to help ourselves and be a support for those who are struggling.

Many in the food and wine blogging community will be supporting this event with recipes calling for a "cancer fighting food". Some choose to share their own cancer experiences and some tell stories of their support for their friends or family experiencing cancer.

In honour of this event and to show my support I chose to embrace the TOMATO. The anti-cancer compound in tomatoes, lycopene, has been shown to be especially potent in combating prostate cancer. In addition to preventing prostate cancer, lycopene may also protect against breast, lung, stomach, and pancreatic cancer.

There are many Cancer Fighting Foods and Spices. This list of 11 Cancer Fighting Foods may be of interest to lead a healthy life with or without the disease. Kick it in the butt!

Now that Spring is officially here (insert picture of Val once again with fingers and toes crossed) I have definitely moved over to salads. This recipe comes from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa herself from her cookbook "Barefoot Contessa at Home". I have been making wonderful things from her cookbooks of late. Ina never seems to fail me with any of the recipes I try of hers so I thought I would give this Greek inspired dish a try. Add a touch of turmeric, a chili pepper or a clove of garlic and serve it with a glass of red wine and you will be fighting cancer BIG TIME with the cancer fighting properties of these foods.

**Tomato Feta Salad**

3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
12 ounces feta cheese, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
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Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, salt, olive oil, pepper, basil and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta into 1/2 - 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.
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18 comments:

  1. Lovely salad. A fantastic way to fight cancer and a worthy entry for the event.

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  2. Val, even if it was raining, I'd still eat this outside...it's so patio...luv it!

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  3. This is another event I have good intentions on Entering- I'll have to record the deadline and hope I'll have something ready on time. Your salad looks very tasty as well. :)

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  4. Hi Val, cancer touches many families also sadly many of my family. It really is wonderful to hear of food to help combat cancer - thanks sweetie for blogging about this food event!

    Rosie x

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  5. This is one of my favorite types of salads. I could eat it all day long! Thank you so much for adding it to the round up of CCC2. I appreciate your participating and support. Enjoy your weekend!

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  6. Ooooh - good entry! I could eat this any time.

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  7. That is a fresh and delicious meal.

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  8. What a fantastic dish! I can't wait to try it with tomatoes from the garden this year. Yum!

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  9. Val - another great entry for another worthy event!

    Thank you for the info - and I have noted the event so I can hopefuly join in next time :)

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  10. Tomato and feta, what an absolute delicious combination! I also love it in the morning with scrambled eggs.
    Thanks for all the info on foods to combat cancer,thats such a great event.

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  11. Another super tasty sounding salad!

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  12. I love the combination of tomato and feta. Your salad looks terrific!

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  13. An excellent entry for a worth event.

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  14. That sounds fantastic. One of my favorite combo's is tomato and feta cheese!

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  15. Great salad! Tomatoes and feta are perfect together :)

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  16. You always find the great events in the blog world. I like it.

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  17. Lovely salad, darling! And great post, as usual, so informative!
    Too bad we all know about someone that has gone through Cancer!!! Let's fight against it!!!!!!!!! I'd like to contribute too :D

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  18. That salad looks so fresh tasting. I love the flavor of tomatoes and feta together.

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Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

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