summer pasta salad.

yum! i love orzo.
i think it's the best base for a pasta salad.
those tiny little noodles don't over-power any other guest stars in the salad. not like the way those big curly-q noodles do.
so for this version of light & fresh pasta salad, we have:
-orzo
-diced tomatoes (drained)
-chopped cucumbers
-slivered red onions
-chopped mushrooms (from a can)
-kalamata olives
-red wine vinegar <3
-oregano
-basil
-parsley
(variations: add juice of a lemon, goat cheese, feta. don't worry, you're free to make your own decisions. i won't yell at you. i promise.)

directions are pretty simple. cook the pasta, toss everything together in a bowl.
it's so easy, i bet even cheryl could do it.

beer 2.0

typically, when i drink, i am in no condition to make a list of adjectives to describe what i'm drinking. when i do drink, after the sixth or seventh... or eleventh or twelfth beer... i'm almost incapable of discussing the finer points of a brew...
when it came to this bison brewing honey basil (it's organic!), it was love at first taste! we met on a warm fall afternoon in durham, and it was on draft. personally, i think that this beer on draft is much more impressive than in the bottle.
now, don't get me wrong, should you stumble upon this gem, get it. immediately.
i had whole foods order the honey basil (typically you can find an ample amount of bison's chocolate stout, but no dice on this) and it is perfect spring beer. it's light, and the basil gives the beer a fresh taste, that is so unique on the beer circuit.

i had this for lunch while kayaking on the falls of neuse river in the spring.
perfect!

those aren't noodles!

tricked you!
it's zucchini! woot!
heat, humidity, and sunburn are all terrible things about the summer.
squash, is one of the summer's finer points.
yes, i know. it's not summer yet, but a girl can get excited, can't she?
these tasty little green zucchini were just what i needed to make a faux-sagna!
so many silent letters! and it's still tasty!
despite my anxiety over potentially cutting off a digit, i broke out the mandolin. slicing noodle-thin strips of zucchini was easy and quick, and got me going on my faux-sagna. i sliced about four zucchini, at just under 1/8" thickness.
also to prep:
-mix about 12oz of ricotta with just under half a cup of egg beaters.
-reduce down tomato paste, tomato sauce, and a few tablespoons of garlic.
let the layering fun begin!
-tomato sauce on bottom of the pan.
-overlapping long strips of zucchini
-tomato sauce
-overlapping long strips of zucchini
-large pieces of hand-ripped fresh basil (thanks, farmers market!)
-ricotta mix
-zucchini
-tomato sauce

so on, and so fourth until all your materials are gone. i popped these bitches in the oven at 425* for about 40 minutes or so.

being i cooked down tomato sauce, it was a bit thick, and i was worried the whole faux-sagna was going to be dry, but it isn't! why not? simply because, i'm amazing.
the only down-side to this super squash strata, is turning the oven on. clearly, when it's 100* in the summer (when zucchinis are in their prime) the last thing you want to do is bake anything. so crank on the air, and break out the mandolin.

it's totally worth it.