Orzo Salad

I love a yummy tasting Summer salad and this Orzo Pasta Salad is perfect for that hot summer day. Using fresh ingredients and fresh herbs from my garden enhanced all the flavors so nicely. I do recommend making this salad several hours before serving or even the day before serving to give all the fresh ingredients plenty of time to marinate together. I also highly recommend making another batch of the dressing, or at least half a batch, if you do serve this the next day. The pasta absorbs a lot of the liquid ingredients the longer it sits, so adding a fresh dose of the dressing right before serving along with some additional chunks of feta is delicious!!

My kids drop by the house “just because” and it’s one of my very favorite things being an empty nester. The day I made this salad, my son did just that as he just appeared in my back door! He wanted to show me his new truck he just bought and since he lives about an hour away from me, he usually stays for awhile so we can chat for a bit. We drove around in his new ride for awhile and when we came back to the house, I served this salad, very impromptu, along with some warm pita bread and some fresh fruit as we had a lovely visit over a nice light and summery lunch. It was absolute perfection on such a hot summer day. I kept this in my fridge for about 5 days and it was very filling and so yummy!! I hope you all enjoy!!

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup extra light olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1/2 teaspoon Salt 1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper

1 (1 pound) box orzo pasta, cooked and drained 1 Seedless Cucumber, diced

1 Pint grape tomatoes, halved 1 (14 oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

1 (6 oz) can whole pitted black olives, drained 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Garnish with fresh oregano

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice (I just used bottled lemon juice) olive oil, oregano, chives, salt and pepper, whisking to combine; Set aside

Cook your pasta, adding salt to the water. Drain but do NOT rinse all that yummy salt flavor out.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, cucumber, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, and feta cheese. I used a whole 14 oz can of black olives because that is what I happened to have in my pantry and it was great. I also buy block feta in the brine and crumble by hand. I like a really chunky salad and the feta chunks were perfect! Add your cooked orzo pasta

Pour lemon juice mixture over pasta mixture, stirring to combine well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Garnish with more feta cheese and fresh oregano.

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Orzo Pasta Salad

Author: Anita Casano

Delicious Orzo Pasta Salad is a dish I serve at family gatherings throughout the year because it feeds so many people! It's delicious and tastes even better the next day!

Ingredients

Orzo Pasta Salad

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice - or bottled
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbls fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 Tbls fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 lb box orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions
• 1 seedless cucumber, diced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 14 oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 16 oz can whole pitted black olives, drained
• 4 oz feta, crumbled (honestly the more feta the better this will taste)

Instructions

Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe

1. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, chives, salt and pepper. Whisk together. Set aside
2. Cook the orzo pasta according to package directions. Add salt to the water as it's cooking. Drain, but do not rinse the pasta.
3. In a large bowl, combine cucumber, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives and feta cheese
4. Add the cooked orzo pasta to the cucumber and vegetable bowl
5. Pour lemon and olive oil dressing over the salad and mix well.
6. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Longer is better.
7. Garnish with more feta cheese and fresh oregano and serve

LEMON THYME TEA BREAD

I am having so much fun with my herb garden this year. I grew so much already, I had to cut a bunch and prune the entire garden back already. One small herb garden produces so much harvest!! I wanted to start baking and cooking using these precious herbs! I think there is an herb called lemon thyme, but I am just growing regular thyme this year. I’ve used thyme when I cook a roast or turkey but I have never baked anything with thyme in it…. So this is my first time using fresh thyme in my baking.

This tea bread is so yummy and is the perfect little bite of sweet to go with your favorite tea! You will taste just a hint of the thyme with that subtle sweet flavor of lemon. The butter give the bread so much flavor and moisture… I can’t wait for you to try this recipe and impress all of your tea table friends!

2 cups unsalted butter, softened 2 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole buttermilk, at room temperature 1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze (recipe follows) Garnish: Fresh thyme, lemon slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (8x5x3 inch) loaf pans with nonstick baking spray with flour. I used mini loaf pans making 8 mini loaves and I adjusted the baking time. I will note this baking time below.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at high speed until creamy, approximately 6 minutes. Add thyme and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt. Sift twice and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide batter evenly between prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 30 minutes (I baked for about 15 - 20 minutes for the mini loaves). Cover loaves with tented aluminum foil, and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes (I baked for an additional 20 minutes for the mini loaves). Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely. Place parchment paper under the cooling racks, and pour lemon glaze over loaves. Garnish with thyme and lemon slices, if desired.

Lemon Glaze (makes approximately 1 1/4 cups)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Use immediately. Drizzle over the tops of the loaves.

I wrapped each individual loaf in Saran Wrap and froze them. Take out a loaf for tea, slice and enjoy my friends!

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Lemon Thyme Tea Bread

Author: Anita Casano

I love to use herbs when I am baking. This delicious tea bread is perfect for adding that little bit of lemon zest along with some lemon thyme herbs from the garden!

Ingredients

Lemon Thyme Tea Bread

• 2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 Tbls fresh lemon thyme, chopped
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 Tbls lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)
• Fresh lemon thyme and lemon slices for garnish

Lemon Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Instructions

Lemon Thyme Tea Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray 2 loaf pans with non stick baking spray or 8 mini load pans
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at high speed until creamy, approximately 6 minutes
4. Add lemon thyme and mix until combined
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
6. In a large bowl, sift together sugar, baking powder and salt. Sift twice and set aside
7. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Set aside
8. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture
9. Divide mixture between the 2 prepared loaf pans or 8 prepared mini loaf pans
10. Bake for 30 minutes for loaf pans and bake 15-20 minutes for mini loaf pans. Cover loaves with tented aluminum foil and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes (or another 15-20 minutes for the mini loaves) until cake tester comes out clean.
11. Let cake loaves cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely
12. Place parchment paper under the cooling racks, and pour lemon glaze over the tea bread
13. Garnish with lemon thyme and lemon slices if you like

Lemon Glaze

1. In a small bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth
2. Drizzle over the cooled lemon tea bread loaves
3. Serve right away or wrap each loaf in Saran Wrap and freeze until ready to serve.

Italian Bruschetta Recipe

Tea and sweets has always been my favorite combination when enjoying afternoon or evening tea. When I want something a little bit heavier and more of a High Tea setting, I add in a few savory treats as well, and these little bruschetta bites are some of my faves! So easy peasy to make and actually make great quick appetizers before a family gathering or holiday meal as well! There are many many ways to make bruschetta but this is my “go to” recipe and is delicious every time I make them. You can add your own toppings to either spice things up a bit or add little touches of various flavors. Just remember to cut the bread on the thinner side because I have been told (by my family mostly) that thicker slices makes it more difficult to eat and tends to get a bit messy. So for the tea table, I cut the bread on the thinner side so it’s easier to enjoy and doesn’t end up all over the table linens. Enjoy!

Italian Bruschetta

1 loaf soft French or Italian baguette

4 Roma Tomatoes, chopped

1 Jar of your favorite Pesto Sauce

Fresh Basil, chopped

Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

I start by lining a cookie sheet with aluminum foil but you can use a non-stick cookie sheet as well. Slice the entire baguette into about 1” pieces, thicker if you would like but I like to keep the slices thin so they are easier to eat. Place each bread slice on the cookie sheet. Spread each slice with a layer of pesto sauce. Make sure you cover the entire surface of each slice of bread. I add some parmesan cheese at this point sprinkled on top of the pesto because, well, you can never have too much parmesan cheese. Add the chopped tomatoes making sure you have covered every slice.

Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil leaves and I add another covering of freshly grated parmesan cheese again. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. That’s it!! Easy Peasy, smells divine and looks incredibly colorful and fresh on the plates! Enjoy!

These Bruschetta bites are shown here with a little Spanikopita. I will be sharing this recipe with you in my next blog post!

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Bruschetta

Author: Anita Casano

One of my family's favorites and another recipe I have made as an entree with a great salad or as an appetizer. These are delicious and so easy!

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French bread
• 1 jar pesto sauce
• fresh basil, cut into strips or chopped
• Parmesan cheese
• 3-4 Roma tomatoes

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray or parchment paper or aluminum foil
3. Cut French bread into individual slices and place each slice onto baking sheet
4. Cut tomatoes into chopped pieces
5. Spread pesto sauce onto each slice of French bread
6. Place 4-5 pieces of chopped tomato on top of pesto
7. place a few strips of fresh basil onto the tomatoes
8. Sprinkle a generous amount of parmesan cheese over the top of each bread slice
9. Bake on 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes