another treat

another day another treat! i love foods that go with seasons. fresh vegetables in their season. peaches during summer. or a dang good pumpkin spice late in the fall. mhmm! this is a pasta salad served cold, which i would associate with summer. so have at it :-)

summer pasta salad

What you need:

8-12 oz of pasta (i used a good brown rice rigatoni noodle)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

2 whole zucchini

5 oz mushrooms

10 oz grape tomatoes

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/4 small red onion

1/3 cup fresh parsley

feta cheese (optional)

protein (we used salmon, and then grilled chicken)

chop zucchini and mushrooms and toss in a pan with some olive oil and garlic cloves. cook 5 ish minutes, depending on how cooked you like your vegetables. strain excess oils and set aside.

cook pasta until done. drain and rinse well with cold water until completely cooled.

juice lemon and whisk in EVOO.

cut tomatoes in half. finely chop red onion & parsley and set aside.

stir in red onion/tomatoes and cooked vegetables into pasta. toss on the dressing and give it another good stir. then fold in the parsley. place in the refrigerator for minimum one hour and serve chilled. stir in some crumbled feta cheese (if your stomach will allow it), top with some meat, and enjoy your tasty summer treat!

*tricks*

• don't forget to throw citrus in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to get as much juice out as possible
• add more vegetables if you want, or take some out if you do not like them
• i believe that cheese is similar to garlic... you can never really have too much