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 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!

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.

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!

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!