Some people drive around on weekends looking for flea markets or yard sales, or a not-so-crowded swimming spot.
We drive around looking for dinner. In people’s yards.
It’s not as creepy as it sounds.
I was pestering my guy to combine a Sunday afternoon drive to soothe our teething 8-month-old with a trip to the farmer’s market. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he didn’t seem to want to go.
Until he suggested we avoid traffic and crowds, go get lost on some back roads and hunt for roadside stands.
Much better.
Now, before I make it sound like I’ve forsaken the old standby markets in York – I’ll be there for blueberries next week, Brown’s! – let me tell you about The Summer of Kale.
Last year, we grew kale. We got more than we expected, it tasted way better than we ever could’ve imagined and we ended up selling big bags of it to our friends.
OK, I didn’t say it was a great story.
Still, the Summer of Kale imparts the same wisdom that foraging does: where we live in southcentral Pa., you can go outside, look around and find a meal with pretty minimal effort. And what you find might be amazingly delicious.
At a roadside or front yard stand, your haul might be small, but it will be fresh and taste great. Photo by Flickr user Chiot’s Run.
You can get sweet corn anywhere, for example, but when a lifelong friend grows the best corn you’ve ever tasted, and it reminds you of your childhood, why would you go anywhere else?
So my point is, be a good local food consumer by shopping at the markets, but never underestimate the ability of the novice or small-scale gardener to blow your mind.
That said, we found summer acorn squash, romaine and some killer cucumbers somewhere in northern Maryland’s Harford County.
Now, I could eat cucumbers every night, sliced lengthwise with a little salt. But that’s not really a recipe, is it?
So here, for your Fourth of July barbecuing pleasure, is a refreshing Greek twist (because feta) on a classic picnic food, the pasta salad.
Lemony orzo pasta salad with cucumber and feta (adapted from Fork Knife Swoon, which, by the way, is an awesome food blog that focuses “on creating simple, delicious and approachable recipes driven by seasonal produce and whole foods, with the home cook in mind.” This salad makes 4 servings, so double or triple if you’re potlucking.)
- 1 ¼ cups dry orzo pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (Let’s be honest — if you’re like me, you’re going to use more.)
- Juice and zest of a lemon
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (I used more.)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese (I used more.)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: a cup or so of grape or plum tomatoes, halved. FKS doesn’t include tomatoes in their recipe, but they absolutely can’t hurt, right?
- Optional: I’m thinking some Kalamata olives wouldn’t ruin this dish, either. Plus, both these additions will add some color to your salad, making it pop on the table so more people eat it and you don’t have leftovers … er, wait a sec …
Cook orzo according to package instructions (al dente, less than five minutes), drain and cool. Normally, I would rinse the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking, but I strained it while it was still on the chewy side and let it cool on its own. That brought it to the perfect consistency. Toss with olive oil, lemon zest and juice, cucumber (and any other vegetables), herbs and feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Best served chilled or at room temperature.
Also best served within a day of making it, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
How nicely would this orzo salad travel to a picnic or barbecue?
