FOOD - orzo salad

I love orzo feta salad - my mom makes it upon request (begging) and I even buy it from the Safeway deli (where is is called Mediterranean salad, randomly). Not really sure why I have never made it - so I did and it is delicious.

Here is the recipe link -
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Orzo-Feta-and-Tomato-Salad-with-Marjoram-Vinaigrette-108235

A few comments on ingredients -

1. I reduced the tomatoes to 1.5 baskets (15 oz. instead of 24) because 24 ounces just seemed like a lot of damn cherry tomatoes.
   
2. I added 1 cucumber - peeled, seeded and sliced to add a little crunch.
3. I added a few artichoke hearts because these are in my mom's version and I like them.

General comments -

1. From the time I started boiling the water for the pasta to when I put it in the fridge to "develop" took ~1 hour. This is mainly because of how damn long it takes to cut up all the ingredients. Seriously - 20 minutes alone to pit and quarter 1 cup of olives.
   
2. Ohhh how much time I would have saved if I had two fancy Williams-Sonomaesque tools. The olive/cherry pitter as well as a handheld citrus juicer.
   
3. For a meat-free recipe it is really not that cheap - a few key ingredients really up the cost - $7 worth of olives, $6 of tomatoes, $6 of feta plus everything else.
   
4. That being said - it makes oh so very very much salad. Supposedly 8 servings but as a side dish - it is really more like 12. Need a dish for a potluck? This is can be your new staple - large, delicious and unexpected.
   

I'll be serving this tonight with a simple broiled salmon and then eating it 3 meals a day for the next few days...

Tra -
B.L.E.