Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

Hi All -

I was recently going through my Pinterest recipes, looking for something somewhat specific but yet not. I knew I wanted something Mediterranean so I went through using different words to find something that would catch my eye. I came across Joy the Baker's "It's Not Summer Yet Greek Pasta Salad." I liked the idea but knew I would want to change it up. So here's my take on it:

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 lemons, juiced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Pasta Salad:

5 cups cooked (cooled) orzo pasta

3 chopped Persian cucumbers 

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped heart of palm

1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved

sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl toss together orzo pasta, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, onion, heart of palm and olives.  Add olive oil, lemon juice and garlic powder. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. You can serve immediately or chill and then serve. Personally, I like it a bit chilled once all the ingredients have been mixed together. 

I would like to say that every time I make this, I base it off of taste. Some days I go with more lemon, some days more olives, more garlic (so I’ll add fresh crushed garlic on those days), or whatever else I might be craving. Being Middle Eastern, it’s REALLY hard for me to stick to any sort of recipe. 98% of the time I ask my mom or one of my aunts for directions on how to cook something, they never use measurements so that's also become a habit for me. I do recommend that you do that also every once in a while and listen to your taste buds when they're craving!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! And thank you to Joy the Baker for inspiring me. :) Enjoy and talk to you soon!

I Ran My First 5K!

Hi Everyone!

Guess what.. I'm back! I don't want to sit here any promise that I'm going to get better at posting, I'll let my actual posts do the talking. So let's dive in!

I've crossed thing the first thing off my 30 Before 30 bucket list for 2014. I ran The Color Run DC! It was a great first 5K for a few different reasons. First, it was fun! The colors made each kilometer go by faster. Second, it's great for beginners. It's not timed so there's no worry about crossing that finish line as fast as you can. Third, it's something that everyone can participate in. There were people of all ages, people running alone, in partners, in families. My favorite were the moms with their running strollers.

I will admit, I took the longest shower of my life after this race. It wasn't easy to wash everything off. There was definitely scrubbing involved. It was totally worth it though! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the race:

Now that I've gotten my first race out of the way, I'm definitely going to do another. Except for the next one, I'll actually train beforehand. 

I definitely recommend that everyone do at least one 5k at some point. Even if you're not a runner, there are 5ks that are for walkers. They're a great way to go outside and be active with friends. Any bit of exercise you do is better than none! :)

Talk to you all soon!