Pasta Salad with Feta and White Wine Vinaigrette

Last night I had an idea to make a pasta salad, so I asked James what vegetables he would like and took it from there. Here's what I came up with:

1 box of whole wheat penne

1 head of broccoli

1 small zucchini

1 small yellow squash

8 oz frozen peas

6 oz crumbled feta cheese

.25 cup sliced red onion

1.5 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

.25 tsp dried dill

6 (approx.) tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Wash all vegetables if needed. Cut ends off zucchini and squash then cut them in half and julienne. Cut stems off broccoli and just use the florets. Boil pasta in a large pot for the amount of time indicated on box. During the last two minutes of boiling the pasta, throw in broccoli, zucchini, squash and peas just for a quick blanch. Strain pasta and vegetables.

In a small bowl add mustard, white wine vinegar, dill, salt and pepper and whisk together. Then slowly add olive oil and keep whisking so you emulsify the ingredients.

Add pasta and vegetables to a large bowl and pour vinaigrette over it. Add onions and feta and mix together. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

Orzo Salad With Zucchini and Feta

Serves 8
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 25m

Ingredients
8 ounces orzo (1⁄2 box)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/4 pounds small zucchini (3 to 4), cut into thin half-moons
8 ounces Feta, crumbled (2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Directions
Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain and run under cold water to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, red pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the zucchini and let marinate, tossing occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Add the orzo, Feta, and dill to the zucchini mixture and toss to combine.

Nutritional Information
Per Serving
Calories 230
Fat 12g
Sat Fat 5g
Cholesterol 25mg
Sodium 503mg
Protein 8g
Carbohydrate 24g
Sugar 3g
Fiber 1g
Iron 1mg
Calcium 152mg

Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars

Ingredients:

- 2 cups oats
- 3/4 cup wheat germ
- 3/4 cup ground flax seeds
- 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup peanuts, crushed
- 2/3 cup turbinado sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan.

Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, ground flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned.

Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.

Put the turbinado sugar, agave nectar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains and the liquid “glue”. Oh, and turn off your oven, because you’re finished with it now.

Mix everything REALLY WELL because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish. Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled. Then, open the waxed paper…carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper. Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like. I wrapped ours individually in plastic wrap, so that we could just throw one into our bag or lunch box in the morning. If you’d like to save on packaging though, you can store yours in an airtight container, between sheets of waxed paper (so they don’t stick together).

Enjoy!

current obsessions

bravo

i haven't been on here in a while. that's probably the most famous blog quote ever. well anyway, here are a few things that happened in january:

- quit smoking 4 days ago!
- it sucks to quit smoking
- my aunt mary lou passed away and i drove to michigan alone for the funeral and to pick up my mom
- mike moved back to new york a few weeks ago and i miss him
- i started working out a lot in order to deal with quitting smoking better
- my mom got me a wii and it rules
- i'm only taking one class this semester which is bad for timing but i'll make it up somehow
- i recently realized how genius it would be to open an ebay store in nyc and i'm seriously looking into it
- i'm updating my website right now but i still need more photos for it

that's all i got right now. i need to write a play by play of the day of the funeral.

politics

i just can't get over people lately because of this election.


HOW ARE YOU ALL DEFENDING SARAH PALIN??!