Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Salad Days

This past weekend I posted a screen shot of our weather station. It indicated 102 F (39 C) with a heat index of 114 (45 C). I'm glad I didn't know that when we were riding around in the Georgia countryside. There were actually a few minutes when I thought about my head boiling away inside the helmet.


tempJUNE


Since we don't have a pool (poor me, #first world problems) I usually jump right in the shower when we get home from a hot ride. Brutal heat!

It's definitely the season for lighter fare. Salads, seafood, fruit....that lot.

Here is an orzo salad I can recommend that is great hot or cold. Orzo is one of my favorite pastas. It cooks up with texture similar to rice.

orzo salad

Saute a small onion and 3 or more cloves of chopped garlic in a dribble of olive oil. Then add a half cup of orzo and stir it around. That toasts it a bit. Not sure if that makes a difference in the end product.

Add 2 cups of liquid - I use 1 and half cups vegetable or chicken broth and a half cup water. Salt and pepper this mixture and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the orzo is plump and soft.

Now add a cup of peas and a good half cup of Parmesan cheese. This makes an excellent meal on it's own or a good side. If you'd like protein you can add tofu, shredded chicken or peeled shrimp at the end of the cook time.

Linking up to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday. HERE is link to this week's Souper Sunday

SouperSundays

What light meals do you like when the heat is brutal? I think we might get some oysters soon, nice cold salty oysters.



9 comments:

  1. I have never tried orzo, but after seeing you posting a few recipes using it, I want to. That salad looks good!

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  2. I'm not a big swimmer but summer days like what we're getting now definitely make me wish I had one! I can't imagine how hot it was in that helmet! I'm a big orzo fan too and this looks yummy. Perfect for those days when it feels to hot to move!

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  3. Thank you, Vicii. It's great hot or chilled. I like the texture.

    Katherine, I think my face actually cooked inside the helmet! We got home and both of us felt like ours faces were sunburnt but that would be impossible with the sunscreen and shields.

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  4. If I don't eat soup in front of the aircon, salads are definitely one of my favorite go-to meals (although we don't get as hot here as you do there) and I love being able to just pull out a bowl of a good pasta salad for an easy meal on a hot day/night. This salad looks especially yummy--can't beat the 3 P's--pasta, Parmesan, and peas! ;-)

    Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays this week!

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  5. Deb, we are sitting inside more for meals as of late. I will try and sit on the patio while the dog gets her sun and then she wants inside before too long. Soup is for inside lately. I am hoping to make a few Nigel Slater salads coming up.

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  6. Salads and a few sandwiches are all we have had for the past two days. It's been kind of nice not being in the kitchen. I guess you at least had a bit of a breeze going on your ride. Geesh, I can't imagine having my head covered in that kind of heat. (Thanks for the reminder to link up with Souper Sunday!)

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  7. Debra, it's about this time of year, every single year, that we talk about retiring to Tennessee or Wyo I got. I know Wyoming is way too cold for us but maybe Tennessee would work. This heat is terrible. I am with you, sandwiches and salads and las heating up the kitchen.

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  8. Tina, I feel like I am melting outside. The humidity! Spent an hour in my garden and I could do no more. A sticky, stinky and sweaty mess. Which then required a 2-hour lounging around doing nothing in the a/c to recover #firstworldproblems

    You are summer days require lighter dishes, and more salads. This orzo salad is really nice.

    Happy 4th of July!

    Velva

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