Orzo salad

This Mediterranean orzo salad is inspired by the food served at one of my favorite restaurants: Mama's Lebanese Bakery!

I have a slight obsession with orzo pasta lately...and goat cheese as always.

It only takes 9 minutes to cook to al dente perfection.

While the orzo is cooking you can prepare and chop your vegetables.  I just used some things that I had on hand.  I've also made a version where I used sundried tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes and mint instead of basil.

After rinsing the orzo with cold water and draining it I just added in all the ingredients, some red wine vinegar and a little olive oil and then seasoned with freshly ground pepper and some oregano.

And this is what I eat for lunch! Blah blah blah

Rosemary pork chops

So, yet another recipe I found on the Gawker:

http://www.erinnish.com/2011/11/pork-chops-with-balsamic-mushrooms.html

This recipe is ridiculously easy and delicious. 

In the original recipe the lady used canned mushrooms-NASTY!!!

So you will need:

Pork chops

Mushrooms

Rosemary

Garlic

Olive oil

You marinate the pork chops in garlic/rosemary/olive oil for 10 or 20 minutes.  Then you cook them until browned on both sides and cooked through.  This will depend on the thickness of the pork chops you chose.  I am not usually a big fan of pork chops so I went with a very thin cut.

After you cook the pork chops set them aside.  In the same pan cook the mushrooms and they will absorb the browned bits and cooking juices from the pork chops.

I served with mashed potatoes, but any vegetable side would work nicely.

Loon Sugar Cookies

The Hungry Oryx is back by popular demand!  More recipes for distaster and other random stuff!

My excuse for not posting all summer is that it's been too hot to cook or bake anything.

On the hottest of days, I would compare the temperature inside of my apartment to being trapped inside of a robotic rhino... 

I decided to turn on my oven for the first time in many months to make my coworkers some classic sugar cookies in the shape of loons- inspired by my recent trip to Minnesota, and the purchase of a loon shaped cookie cutter at the infamous Mall of America!

(See my Dia de Los Muertos cookie post for sugar cookie recipe: http://lauramanthei.blogspot.com/2011/11/skull-sugar-cookies.html)

These came of suprisingly well, considering how drunk I was when I decorated them! lol

Hear the eerie call of this magestic bird:

One of my aunts and I searched the lake by canoe in search of the elusive loon...

No loons were sighted, but we had the lake to ourselves and it was a beautiful day!

The loon remained ever elusive... but I did see some other fascinating wildlife on my trip.

Behold the albino squirrel!

Words can't describe the excitement I felt when my eyes caught sight of this beautiful freak of nature! 

Not much could top that regal rodent, but I got pretty excited when I spotted this fresh road kill being hauled away.  I guess it doesn't take much to impress this city girl