Summer Salad: Mari Farthing

 

 

When I first met Mari Farthing, I felt like I'd met her before.  I'm not sure if it's because her name was familiar because she was a (now former) editor at MetroFamily Magazine or Senior editor at Buzz Books. She also blogs at Oklahoma Women Bloggers and Mari's Virtual Notebook and shows off her musical addiction interests at The Music Mamas. We officially met at the table reading of the Listen to Your Mother Show. 
 

We chatted. She's funny and unassuming and humble and passionate. That's when I realized Mari is just one of those people. You know...the kind you meet and it's like you've always known each other and what took so long for it to be official? After making her salad, check out her blogs.  You may feel that way about her, too.

 

 

Orzo veggie salad

1/2 box cooked orzo pasta, rinsed, drained and cooled

1 package herbed feta cheese chunks (6 oz)

1 cup of small cherry/grape tomatoes, quartered or 1 md tomato, chopped

Good handful of baby spinach, chopped

bottled Greek vinaigrette salad dressing (or Italian dressing or homemade)

Dice veggies to be of similar size:

1/2 ea: red, yellow & green bell pepper

1 md. cucumber, peeled & seeded 

1/4-1/2 red onion

Italian seasoning, salt, pepper to taste

Optional: black or Kalamata olives, pickled banana peppers, pepperoncini (all chopped in a similar to above fashion)

Combine chopped vegetables with pasta and gently toss. 

Add in seasonings at this time, plus a small amount of dressing. 

Gently combine and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Just before serving, add cheese and a little more dressing (or a lot, if you like a lot of dressing) and toss.

 

Magical Meal Combination

This is great if you're going to have Greek food, such as kebabs or souvlaki-marinated pork (the optional ingredients are a perfect tie in for Greek food), but works equally well with just about any grilled meat or as a stand-alone pasta salad. The add-ins are very flexible to what you have available; use your leftover vegetables from a previous meal, add a protein like grilled chicken or shrimp in the salad to make it a full meal. I would enjoy this with a nice Sauvignon Blanc, but then I think the only requirement for a nice Sauvignon Blanc is a lovely summer day!