Easy Mediterranean Recipes That Taste Like A Great Escape

Jayden started day camp at Cornerstone Church. Day one: I dropped him off and he didn't cry. I CRIED. He walked into the room, saw a bin of toy trucks, looked back at me, and said, "Bye, Mama" with the casualness of a man leaving for a business meeting. BYE, MAMA. Not "don't leave me." Not "I'm scared." BYE. He turned his back and walked toward the trucks and I stood in the hallway with tears on my face watching my baby become a person who doesn't need me in the room. This is good. This is healthy. This is also the worst feeling in the world.

By day three he had a best friend: a kid named Oliver. (This is the Oliver from the milestone — the friend who will be important). They bonded over trucks. Oliver's mom is a woman named Danielle (different Danielle from my patient) and she and I exchanged numbers in the parking lot with the solidarity of two mothers who just dropped off three-year-olds and are trying not to look like they've been crying. We have been crying. We are fine. We are FINE.

Chloe is tearing through books. She's at seven for the summer and it's the first week of June. She reads on the couch, in the car, at Mama's, in the bath (she drops books in the bath — we've lost two paperbacks to the tub). Ms. Davis at the library asked her, "What's your favorite book this summer?" Chloe said, "I haven't read it yet." FUTURE TENSE. Her favorite book is one she hasn't read yet. My daughter is an optimist about literature and I am going to cry about it in the library parking lot, which is my new parking lot since I no longer work at the Waffle House.

Work is good. Steady. I see my patients, I chart my findings, I educate and I clean and I go home. The routine is becoming a rhythm and the rhythm is becoming a life. I don't dread Monday mornings. I look forward to them, which is something I never thought I'd say about any job. Monday means patients. Patients mean trust. Trust means I'm doing the thing I spent two years learning to do. That's not a job. That's a calling. I didn't know I had a calling until I answered it.

I made a Greek chicken bowl this week — grilled chicken, cucumber, tomato, red onion, kalamata olives, feta, tzatziki sauce, over rice. It's the kind of meal that makes me feel worldly, which is funny because I've never been further than Chattanooga and my "worldly" is a Greek bowl made in Hermitage, Tennessee, from ingredients purchased at Kroger. But the tzatziki is from scratch (yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill, lemon) and the chicken is marinated and the bowl is good and sometimes being worldly is just trying a new recipe and letting it expand your kitchen by one country.

That bowl I mentioned — the one with the grilled chicken and the tzatziki I made from scratch — deserves its own moment, because it earned one. It was a week of big feelings: Jayden walking away from me toward toy trucks, Chloe already loving a book she hasn’t read yet, Monday mornings I actually look forward to. I needed dinner to feel like a small adventure, something that said you can go somewhere without going anywhere. These Mediterranean recipes are exactly that — the kind of food that makes your kitchen feel bigger than it is, and your life feel a little more colorful, even on a Tuesday in Tennessee.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the Grilled Greek Chicken:
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
For the Homemade Tzatziki:
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/2 English cucumber, grated and squeezed dry
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Bowls:
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Fresh parsley or dill for garnish

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. In a bowl or zip-top bag, combine olive oil, garlic, oregano, paprika, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Add chicken breasts, coat well, and marinate for at least 15 minutes (up to 4 hours in the refrigerator for best flavor).
Make the tzatziki. Grate the cucumber and use a clean towel or paper towels to squeeze out as much moisture as possible — this step keeps your tzatziki thick and creamy. Stir together the yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, dill, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Grill the chicken. Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 6–7 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice or chop.
Cook the rice. Prepare rice according to package directions. Fluff with a fork and season lightly with salt and a drizzle of olive oil if desired.
Prep the toppings. While the chicken rests, halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber, slice the red onion, and halve the kalamata olives.
Assemble the bowls. Divide rice among four bowls. Top with sliced chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, and crumbled feta. Spoon a generous dollop of tzatziki over everything.
Garnish and serve. Finish with fresh parsley or dill and an extra squeeze of lemon if you like. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Mediterranean Recipes That Taste Like A Great Escape — How a Greek Bowl in Hermitage, Tennessee Made Me Feel Like I’d Traveled the World