two meals for hot weather.

Last week, the weather in Germany was so surprisingly hot! Without the air conditioning that we are used to in the States, it's humid, sticky and exhausting. When it's that hot, the last thing anyone wants to do is turn on the oven. Thus, I decided to make an effort to create a couple of quick and easy summer meals, inspired by family recipes. 

Quick shot of Feta Pasta.

This recipe for Feta Pasta is based on a dish my mother used to make for me as a child. 

For 2-4 servings, boil water for a half a pound of ziti, penne or something similar. 

As the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl combine: 2 diced ripe tomatoes, 1 minced clove of garlic, a small handful of basil thinly sliced, some cubed or crumbled feta cheese of any sort (I usually use herbed feta), and a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Ingredients can be adjusted easily to suit your tastes. 

Drain the pasta, add to the bowl, toss to coat the pasta and serve!

Cold Rice Salad, taken with my 50mm lens.

Rice salad was something introduced to me by my aunt Clair, who I lived with in Montana for a collective couple of years as I was growing up. I asked her for the recipe more than once, but she couldn't give me any specifics and said I could just throw in whatever I wanted. It truly is versatile - all you really need is cooled rice, any vegetables you have at home, leftover meats and some kind of oil and vinegar based dressing. I happened to have carrots, celery, radishes, olives, chicken, parsley, German salad dressing and olive oil on hand. 

Chop all the vegetables and meat into small pieces, mix with the cold rice and slowly add dressing, salt and pepper to taste. Then cover and refrigerate for an hour or two before eating!

These meals are both fresh and simple - hope you enjoy!