I’m so pleased to announce that I’m going to be blogging for Lantern Moon! I’ve been in a knitting group (the knit nite group) with Sharon Woodcock, one of the owners of Lantern Moon, for about three years. Our group grew out of an intarsia class that we had with Leigh Radford. I was thrilled when Sharon & Joel (her husband, and co-owner of Lantern Moon) asked me to blog for them. Please come check out the new blog here.
We went to the Tigard Knitting Guild meeting last Thursday; Sharon was the guest speaker. It’s a great group of knitters, and I even participated in the show and tell time, with my Pacific Shawl.
I still have to finish writing up the pattern; it’s been on the back burner for a bit. But I hope to have it out to test knit in the next few weeks.
So, not much knitting around here, but I’ve been cooking. This is our new favorite pasta salad. It’s just right for summer. You can put any of your favorite things in it, but here’s what I did:
Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad
Dressing: in a jar, combine and shake well:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or run through garlic press
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
For the salad:
1 pound orzo pasta, cooked, rinsed, and cooled (this makes a LOT. Note: I’ve made this more recently, and I’ve used 12 oz of orzo with reasonable results, or 1/2 lb (8 oz) for a high goodies to pasta ratio. Anything goes.)
2/3 lb asparagus, cut in 1.5 inch pieces (add these to the pasta for the last 1.5 minutes of cooking)
1 14 ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
1 pint grape tomatoes (whole)
3 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
Combine salad ingredients and toss with 1/2 the dressing. Store the salad, refrigerated, to let the flavors meld. Before serving, add more of the dressing to refresh. (You can use all, or part, of the remaining dressing, as you desire) We served it with grilled chicken, and really enjoyed it!
What’s cooking/knitting with you?
PDXKnitterati 
Ooh, how neat! I love that shawl, and I’m definitely going to give that pasta salad a try sometime soon. It looks perfect for packing in lunches and taking on picnics!
I’m making these ribs tonight. Ten minutes of prep and 6 hours of low-temp cooking. Not too bad! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/dining/30curiousrex.html?_r=1&ref=dining
Love that pasta salad, too.
Congrats! Lantern Moon is a great company, had no idea they had a blog.
I love them! They didn’t have a blog, but now they do. I’m their first blogger.
Congrats! The salad looks super yummy too.
that salad looks amazing! what yarn did you use for that shawl again? Oh, and when we’re hanging out on monday, if we’re able to have a conversation, remind me to ask you about writing patterns!
That’s awesome! I love the shawl, too!
congrats on the blogging gig!!!
Mazel tov on the new blogging gig!!!!
Very cool, congratulations! I will add the Lantern Moon blog to my feed. I love their story and their products.
I love Lantern Moon’s products! What a fun job. Maybe you’ll get a trip to Vietnam.
The orzo salad looks yum. Once the fog lifts and it doesn’t feel like we live in an icebox, I’ll have to give it a spin with some grilled meats.
that’s a great opportunity! Good on you!
Congrats on the new blog! The shawl is beautiful – looking forward to the pattern!
I made the salad tonight (well my variation on it) and it was fabulous. I grilled 4 zucchini and cut it into bite-size pieces instead of using asparagus as well as adding some fresh dill and basil from the garden. Thanks for the recipe.
Finally catching up on my blog reading and I was so inspired by your orzo salad, I MADE it for dinner!!
This is huge because I don’t cook!
I added red bell peppers and red onion…and I’ve got it coming out my ears! Good thing I like it so much!!
Oh yum, that salad looks delicious! I’ve been looking for something to get me out of my all-Asian-inspired-pasta-salad-all-the-time rut…this might very well be it.