summer succotash

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch sections
4 ears of corn, taken off the cob
1 15 oz can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1/2 large cucumber, seeded, 1/4 inch dice
1/2 red onion, 1/4 inch dice
1 pound super firm tofu, 1/2 inch slices
2 whole lemons, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried oregano
3 + 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (not from the lemons above)
salt & pepper to taste

I love summer veggies. I love Greek vegetable salads. I love fresh succotash. But not so much the stuff that got served frozen and totally out of season on my dinner table growing up. Cooking frozen veggies in milk and butter is pretty much wrong. Sorry Nanny and Mom, but I will say it. If it comes in a cold bag or a can, it does not taste better with milk and butter. So in an attempt to put my childhood veggie nightmares to rest, I HAD to make a summer succotash, and I leaned on some fresh ingredients we got from the box, and Katie's co-worker Paul's garden (lemons), to make it happen. Oh yeah, notice there are no lima beans- I think that is a good thing, garbanzos are soooooo much better.

Back to getting this done...
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and heavily salt it. Blanch the green beans and corn in the salted water for 1 minute. Drain, run under cold water, and refrigerate to cool down. Add in the cucumber and onion and keep in the fridge. Take a large piece of foil and brush it with olive oil. Line the sheet with the thinly sliced lemon. Layer the tofu on top, and season with salt, pepper and 1 tsp of oregano. Top with remaining lemon slices, seal up your foil packet and place on the cold side of your grill (or in a 350 degree oven) for 20 minutes. Cool tofu in the refrigerator and add to salad mixture. Mix remaining olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and salt & pepper to taste in a dressing shaker and toss with the salad. Eat it today, tomorrow or two days later, the lemon flavor in the tofu just gets more intense and adds an almost feta quality to the dish. We made a lot, and I cannot wait to eat it on day three!