Orzo Salad

I love this fresh pasta salad chocked full of goodness!  I'll often bring this for lunch.  It's great for a summer BBQ or picnic as well.

If you don't know what orzo is, it's a small rice shaped pasta.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of orzo

1/2 red pepper

1/2 yellow pepper

red or green onion

cherry tomatoes

feta cheese

Dressing:

olive oil

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

Cook orzo according to directions and cool.  I run the orzo under cold water to cool it quickly.

Cut red and yellow peppers into small cubes.  Dice red onion or slice green onions.  Finely chop tomatoes.  Mix all together with the orzo pasta. 

For the dressing add 2/3 olive oil to 1/3 lemon juice.  Add in salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over salad.  Gently toss all together.  Add crumbled feta cheese and gently fold just until mixed.

Enjoy!

Heading off to Italy and France!

Well folks, we're heading off to Italy and France.....  This is the ultimate vacation for food and wine lovers (aka "us")!

We'll be spending time in Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and Tuscany.  We've rented a villa in Tuscany for a week.  Here's the view from our patio:

One patio + some freshly baked bread, a bottle of Chianti, some wonderful Parmesan Reggianno, and a few olives....

It's doesn't get better than this!



After Italy, we'll be spending a few extra days in Paris.  Yes, life is tough, but somehow we manage.....

I promise to take lots of picture of the scenery and the food!  Come back in July for pictures of the food, which I promise will be amazing.  I just have to remember to take pictures of the best dishes.

Ciao!

Lemony Roasted Potatoes

These fresh, lemony potatoes complement any meal.  Serve as a side dish to chicken, pork, or beef.  Done in no time flat!



Ingredients:

- mini potatoes (red, white or yellow)

- 1 clove garlic

- fresh rosemary (or dried)

- sea salt

- olive oil

- lemon juice

Mince garlic and rosemary until finely chopped.  Combine potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and 1 part olive oil to 1/2 part lemon juice.  Make sure the potatoes are well coated with the olive oil and lemon juice mixture.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

I like to let them sit for awhile so the flavours really soak in.

Roast in an aluminum roasting pan at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.  Shake the pan occasionally so the potatoes are well cooked all over.

Can also be made on the barbecue.  Yummy!

Two New Cookbooks Worth Reading

If you're a true "foodie", you probably enjoy cookbooks like me.  I read cookbooks like other people read fiction books.  I may not make all (or sometimes any) of the recipes, but I enjoy the pictures and imagining what the recipe tastes like.

Here are two new cookbooks out by famous celebrities:  Sheryl Crow and Gwyneth Paltrow.  Both are not only a great read, but chocked full of healthy, nutritious recipes.

Sheryl Crow talks openly about her eating habits before being diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2006.  Since her recovery, she has decided to make healthy eating a priority.  She's sharing her most favourite recipes with us.

Gwyneth Paltrow seems to have always focussed on a healthy lifestyle, including eating well.  She really enjoys cooking and it's so nice to see how down to earth she is despite her celebrity status and upbringing. 

Check out Gwyneth's blog at:  www.goop.com.

Both cookbooks are full of wonderfully healthy recipes and taste delicious.  We've already made several out of Gwyneth's book.  I've "stickied" about 20 recipes from Sheryl's cookbook and look foward to trying them out.

Enjoy! 

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

We are leaving for Italy in a few weeks, so we thought we would get in the mood.

This recipe for Tuscan Lemon Chicken is from Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa.  It's moist and flavorful.

Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken, flattened
Kosher salt
1/3 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt on each side. Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a small measuring cup. Place the chicken in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold it flat. Pour the lemon marinade over the chicken, turning it in the dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken 2 or 3 times while marinating.

When ready to grill, prepare a hot charcoal fire on 1 side of a grill (or turn a gas grill on low heat). Spread 1/4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the chicken on the cooler side, skin side up, and weigh it down with the dish you used for marinating. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin side down, weight again with the dish, and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut side down for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut in quarters, sprinkle with salt, and serve with the grilled lemon halves.

Notes:  we used Chicken Thighs rather than a whole chicken and it worked just fine.