salad | Left Coast Contessa

Seeing as I started the summer with a delicious orzo salad, roasted shrimp orzo, I figured I should end the summer with one. I broke open a cookbook I got for my birthday from my Mom.

So far, this cookbook is great! I love the recipes (there are a ton) and the saucy commentary with the recipes. This one was pretty simple. I subbed the mozzarella for feta because it’s what I had on tap. This recipe took literally no thought to put together and was great cold the next day. We had a mini heat wave last week with temps in the 90’s. Having no AC, a cold lunch was necessary. I couldn’t bear to turn on the oven.

Tomato, Basil and Feta Orzo Salad

Ingredients

3 servings of orzo

1/8 cup chopped basil

1/8 cup EVO

1 tablespoon EVO

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (I used orange and yellow ones from the FM)

1 small minced clove of garlic

1 cup crumbled feta

Sprinkling of pepper and sea salt

Instructions

Combine the halved tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, feta, and 1/8 cut EVO in a bowl. Stir and let sit for 1 hour. This was great because it allowed me to get a post run shower in. Wahoo!

After an hour, cook the orzo. Combine the cooked orzo with the other ingredients and the additional tablespoon of EVO. Salt and pepper to taste.

Seriously, can a meal get any easier? I don’t think so. The tomatoes were so fresh and amazing, because they’re in season now. The feta melted just slightly onto the orzo and the basil. Be still my heart it was so good! Is there a better flavor combination than tomatoes and basil? Nope.

This makes three servings. With my marathon appetite I housed a serving and a half and chilled the other portion for lunch the next say. As I mentioned above, it was so hot that the chilled portion came in extra handy. I don’t think I would have heated it up if I could have; it was great cold like all orzo salads. This is something I can see myself making in mass for several days worth of lunches.

One Year Ago: I set my 10k PR in the Santa Monica 5000. It was also the race that introduced me to Kaitlin! Isn’t running wonderful?

So, day 5 of vacation and boredom is setting in. I could feel it this morning when I just wanted to lay on the couch and not get dressed but I forced myself up and out on a 4 mile run. Post yoga running is a whole new world! No pain in my hips or knees. Then I came home to see Iz just hanging out in her favorite perch:

Oh, hi Izzzzz!

Then I had lunch: small salad with arugula, chopped walnuts, orange flavored dried cranberries, brie and balsamic vin. I supplemented my lunch with apple sauce and edamame. I made sure to eat immediately when I returned from my run and drank a ton of water:

Yum! Then I did a variety of things in the afternoon, which included buying a pair of size 28 skinny jeans from jcrew! This is UNPRECEDENTED! I pretty much hit puberty and became an 8, but a 28 in jcrew translates to a 6. This might be too early to call it but I feel good. Also, I am feeling healthy which is the most important thing.

So I arrived home triumphantly and made a healthy dinner which I’d been dying to try for a long time: eggplant and tomato towers. I preheated the oven to 350 and cut eggplant and tomato into slices. Then I added salt, pepper, and EVO to each side of the slices and roasted for 20 mins.

Then after 20 mins you add cheese and stack em! The recipe calls for mozzarella but I forgot to buy it so I used the left over cheddar with garlic and apple flavor. It was a decent replacement (although would have been SO GOOD with alternating levels of buffalo motzo and basil on top, now that I consider it!) After 20 mins you add the cheese and stack it and cook until the cheese is melted and browned (10-20 mins, make sure to keep an eye on it). Unfortch, my stack kinda fell down while cooking. Eh, you can’t win them all. It still turned out well and was totally delicious and healthy.

It turned out really well! I can’t wait to try with motzo and basil, but this was a great dish and so healthy. I love eating a healthy dinner and feeling good at the end of the day especially after a long run. I need to make sure that I am structuring my time this week which means healthy eating and exercise. I have just a few more days before the little bro arrives in LA so I better enjoy my alone time!