The PINK group at The Thomas F Chapman Family Cancer Wellness Center is set to celebrate spring next Monday night! This appetizer is perfect for the “Spring Fling”, full of flavor and soooo good for us, too! We love these small peppers that are available in almost every grocery store. They are so easy to stuff, grill or slice and the taste is sweet and fresh.

Our herb of the week enhances the taste of the peppers and reminds us, its SPRING! Dill is bright and sweet, tangy and because its reminiscent of pickles and capers, its an irresistible addition to these gorgeous peppers.

In fact, for all of our cancer survivors that read this blog, dill’s volatile oils qualify acts as a “chemoprotective” food. It can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens, such as those that are part of cigarette smoke, charcoal grill smoke, and the smoke produced by trash incinerators. It also shares the stage with garlic for its bacteria-regulating effects.

So stuff small sweet peppers with this delicious dill rich salad. And break out the deviled egg plates – we’ve found that a deviled egg plate makes a wonderful serving platter for the peppers!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

3/4 Cup Prepared Quinoa, as Directed on Box

1/2 Cup Pitted Kalamata Olives, Chopped

1/4 Cup Capers, Drained

1/2 Cup Chopped Sundried Tomatoes

2 Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped

1 Cup Chopped Artichoke Hearts

1 ½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Chickpeas, (1 (15 OZ) can drained and rinsed)

1 Jalepeno, ribs and seeds removed and minced

1/4 Cup Minced Red Onion

2 TB Chopped Chives

1/2 Cup Chopped Dill

1 Recipe Mediterranean Dressing*

In a large bowl, toss the ingredients together with the Dressing.

Mediterranean Dressing*

2 Anchovies, (oil packed, drain and pat dry)

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 TB Red Wine Vinegar

2 TB Dill

2 Cloves Garlic

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Place the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

***This recipe makes a lot of great salad. If you have leftovers, it can be tucked inside a whole-wheat pita for lunch tomorrow, or roll it in a lettuce leaf. The dressing rocks on a green salad, too.