Tomato, Chickpea, and Feta Salad

From front to back: Sweet 100 cherry tomato, Sun Gold cherry tomato, Yellow Pear tomato, White Current tomato, and Sweet Pea tomato. All fresh from the garden and ready to be made into something! The largest one that was ripe was around an inch across. The rainy weather has not really allowed the larger tomatoes to ripen at all, but the cherries are ready to go and any bit of sun we get, I seem to get more cherry tomatoes. And I am not the only one in my area, because in my CSA box, I got two brimming pints of cherry tomatoes. Good thing they are my favorite, because I am kinda swimming in them. ;)

Most CSA's will try to give the customers ideas on how to use the products they send. They will always give recipes with things that are not normally seen in the grocery store, such as Chantrelle Mushrooms and Romanesco (a friend of cauliflower). Having a CSA share is a great way to try new things that would be too tender to ship or are more difficult to grow on large scale. Many farms around here specialize in a few things they grow every year, but you wouldn't find in a store. The farm I worked for grew small chokeless artichokes, Sun Gold tomatoes, a really amazing variety of carrots, and Ozette potatoes (WA only native potato). They were known for these items and people would wait for them each year to come into season.

Since starting this new CSA I have found that they have wonderful recipes along with their shares! This is my newest favorite. I made a triple batch because it stores well, and I plan on taking it to Lake Chelan with me tomorrow for lunch.

Tomato, chickpea, and feta salad

1/4 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes (I halved mine)

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

2 tea olive oil

1 tea dried oregano

Rinse and drain chickpeas. In a bowl combine all ingredients and salt and pepper to taste (shouldn't need much! Just a warning.) Let sit for at least 10 minutes before eating as it gets better when marinated a little bit (but don't let it get warm).

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