Yesterday, instead of cooking out, we loaded up the bikes and went for a great ride in the Metroparks. We rode for a little over an hour. The key to it not being crowded seems to be going around dinner time. Our kids aren't skilled on riding on the trail yet, so there was a bit of 'directing' on my part since I was bringing up the rear. I can't wait to ride the Towpath!
The end of summer orzo turned out so good, I had to make more in the same day! D & I kind of ate it all! I paired it with a rotisserie chicken & lemon scented broccoli.
For the pasta, I used my favorite pasta, orzo, as the base. Then I grabbed all the end of summer goodness from the garden (or farm stands). Cherry tomatoes, corn, basil leaves, green onions, chives & from the grocery store: lemon and parmesan. It was the perfect side dish & the lemon was the perfect summer ingredient.
End of Summer Orzo salad
1 16 oz. box orzo, cooked
3/4 c. finely grated parmesan cheese (I use a Microplane)
4 green onions, chopped
basil leaves-about a handful
1/2 cup corn-off the cob (about 4 I think) or frozen
25 cherry tomatoes, halved (estimated)
garlic powder
lemon zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
S&P to taste
chives
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
I also added some TrueLemon
, but its optionalDirections:
While pasta is cooking, in a casserole dish, grate in your parmesan cheese, add garlic powder, S&P, TrueLemon, EVOO and chopped green onions. Add the drained orzo and mix with the bowl ingredients. Add corn, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cherry tomatoes. Lastly gently stir in the basil leaves and taste to adjust seasonings, if necessary. As always, add or subtract anything to your own taste!
To turn this into a complete meal:
For meat eaters, I think adding some shredded rotisserie chicken would be a great.
For a vegetarian entree, to bulk it up I would add some cannellini beans.
And for vegans, I would definitely sprinkle nutritional yeast over in place of the parmesan. Heck, I might do that anyway!
