Med Chopped Salad

This salad is near and dear to Ives' heart. Growing up Ives spent summers at her family home on the Adriatic Sea. She ate a version of Greek salad at least once a day. Her nana (grandmother in Bosnian) would say a tomato a day keeps the skin cancer away. Not sure how much truth there is to that statement, but we do know that tomatoes and veggies are definitely good for your overall health. If you want this salad to keep for a few days, then omit the butter lettuce as the dressing will cause it to wilt or swap in kale for lettuce. Alternatively, keep the dressing on the side!

The Goods:
For the salad
1 head of organic butter lettuce, chopped into small pieces
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, rinsed and halved
3 Persian cucumbers, unpeeled and sliced or 1 English cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, & diced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 red bell pepper, seeded & large diced
6 oz block feta (Sheep's & Goat Milk), cut into cubes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted & halved

For the dressing
1/4 cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil (any high quality olive oil)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (fresh parsley also works)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 sea salt
1/4 tsp cracked pepper

How To:
1) In a large serving dish or bowl add lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, half the cheese and olives and gently toss to combine.
2) In a small mixing bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Taste dressing and adjust to desired flavor, but remember the feta and olives will add more saltiness to the salad.  Drizzle the dressing over the salad immediately prior to serving and toss to coat evenly.  
3) Artfully top the salad with remaining half of the feta cheese and olives.