The planner

My mother is one of those largely organized people, who goes about her life making and following plans with very little drama. My father, likely due to the nature of his work, has a love for solving dramatic problems. He is also a planner, but grows bored when things are too easy. I inherited some odd hybrid of their personalities. I love to make lists and plan, only because my lists and plans indicate exactly how long any given task can be procrastinated. Plans are carefully made to finish any given task approximately three minutes before it would be considered past due or too late.

I did manage to carry one planning love from my mothers house into the circus that is my own. I love weekly menu planning. Sitting around with a cup of coffee, a stack of cookbooks and back-issues of cooking magazines, and a Franklin Covey menu planner form, I can sit around planning weekly meals for hours on end.

One of the things that made it to my list this week was a summer salad recipe that one of my aunts sent years ago. It was begging to be made because it is one of my mom's favorites, managing to capture many of the essential summer flavors in one bowl. It will be included in my list again next week because I forgot to set some aside for my mother before handing the bowl over to my hungry family.

If you are inclined to plan, you may want to consider adding this to your next round of meals.

Chicken Feta Salad

4 chicken breasts, grilled and cubed
8 medium Roma tomatoes
1 lb penne pasta, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
3/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup fresh herbs (I usually use basil)
1 T fresh tarragon
2 cloves garlic

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon
salt & pepper

Boil pasta, cool and set aside. Quarter tomatoes, slice olives, chop herbs, crush garlic, and add to dressing. Toss everything together and refrigerate several hours.

Note: I usually add extra lemon juice and zest to the grilled chicken when I pull it from the grill.