Olives -- I Don't Get It

No recipe here.  Just a few thoughts on the mystery olive.  I do not like olives....at all. I just don't get olives.  What are they?  Fruit?  Vegetable?  I like the things they put inside of olives like blue cheese and garlic, but what's up with these little round things?  Black, green, what's the difference?  My sister loves olives and used to put a black olive on the end of each finger and come at me.  Then there's the time she ate an entire can of black olives while no one was watching.  I have a friend who is frustrated to no end about my lack of love for olives.  Drives him crazy!  He likes those Kalamata olives.  Now I've typed the word olives so many times it doesn't even look like a word.  What's the big deal about olives, anyway?!

Effie's Cranberry Salad

Effie is the best cook in the state of North Carolina as you may recall from my previous posts about her.  Here is another of her wonderful down home recipes from the cookbook her church dedicated to her.  And I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for a way to use up celery.

1 box lemon Jell-O
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped celery
1 pint cranberries
2 oranges (segmented)
1 cup nuts (I think walnuts or pecans would be good)
1 cup chopped apples

Grind the cranberries in a food processor or blender and put in a large bowl.  Mix in the Jell-O.  Add the water and all remaining ingredients.  Put in a mold to set.

Greek Lentil Salad

Lentils are a cousin of the bean, and both are a part of the legume family. All legumes are seeds that grow within pods. Lentils are shaped like a lens and can be used as poker chips. Lentils are fun because they come in all different colors and look cool in glass jars in your kitchen. One of the other great things about lentils is they don’t need to be soaked before cooking like other dried peas and beans, and they still have the same protein and fiber benefits.

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils, rinsed and drained
1/4 small onion
2 bay leaves
1 large shallot, finely chopped 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small cucumber, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced 
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Place lentils, onion, bay leaves, and 6 cups water in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Drain, remove onion and bay leaves, and cool.

Stir together shallot and lemon juice in large bowl. Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, mint, and oil; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Chill 1 hour, or overnight. Serve topped with feta.

Recipe from Vegetarian Times. One cup of this healthy salad has 7 grams of fat and 228 calories.