Been enjoying my tomatoes this week! Here’s a fun summer garden recipe for you! Sorry, I have no pictures…
WE ATE IT ALL UP!
However, I’m sure you can imagine how beautiful it looks!
LYNDA’S SUMMER GARDEN PASTA SALAD (all amounts are approximate)
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups pasta* (dry measure)
1 small zucchini grated
1/4 cup red or green pepper – diced
1/4 cup sweet Vidalia or red onion – diced
1 or 2 cloves of garlic – minced
1 cup sweet one hundred cherry tomatoes – cut in half (or any small, sweet, salad tomatoes)
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Your favorite vinegar and oil salad dressing. Add enough to moisten, and if needed, add more before serving. (I used Newman’s Balsamic Vinaigrette)
METHOD
While salted pasta water is coming to a boil, grate zucchini, mince onions and garlic, and halve tomatoes.
Prepare the pasta according to bag directions and cook until al dente. Remove to colander rinse and drain. Place in bowl and mix in the tablespoon of olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking.
Add remaining ingredients and mix gently to incorporate. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour to allow flavors to meld.
ENJOY!
NOTES:
* For pasta choices you might like ziti, fusilli, spiral or bow tie as these hold onto the juices and dressing nicely!
This salad is easy, forgiving, and open to many variations in fresh vegetable choices. Other vegetables I have tried are peas, corn, celery, carrot, etc.
You might like to grate some hard cheese, into the salad before serving. Romano? Parmesan? ???
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DISCLAIMER: This is my recipe, and I am sure that variations abound. If you think it is yours, then all I can say is, “Great minds think alike.”
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Do you have a favorite summer salad recipe? Feel free to share with us!
Life on the Farmlet 
this sounds like my weekend meals! thanks!
Take Care…
)0(
maryrose
Thank you, Maryrose! I hope you enjoy it. ~ L
You’ll have to make it again and take the picture before you eat it. Seeing is believing.
LOL! I will, just for you, Tom! I agree, I just didn’t think of sharing until we had already consumed the lot… 🙂
~ L
Perfect! I love simple summer pasta dishes, and yours is a treat. I noticed the first tomatoes yesterday, so a while yet before I can indulge!
Thank you, Claire! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
~ L
send some this way…I’m hungry!
Sorry, Diana it was all gone before I even wrote the post. However, it is so simple I am sure you could whip some up tonight! Thank you! ~ L
I’m a big green salad eater in the summer, but always make my own french style dressing because it’s so easy – you might like to consider it instead of bought ready-made.
All you need to do is consider the ratio of 1 part olive oil and 2 parts acid (ie fresh lemon juice & white wine vinegar).
I make up..
– 2 Tablespoon of Bertolli’s classico olive oil (I’ve gone off the taste of Virgin olive oil so use Bertolli’s Classico).
– 2 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
– 2 Tablespoons of a good quality white wine vinegar (not ordinary white vinegar).
If the lemons are overly tart, I add 1/2 teaspoon or so, of sugar.
Put in a screw tight bottle and shake before each use. I add a little freshly ground rock salt, some freshly ground white or black peppercorns. You can add a tiny bit of french mustard or finely chopped parsley or even some lemon thyme or finely ground fresh garlic clove to taste.
But I always make the the same ratio of olive oil to acid.
Must be OLIVE oil. The quantity above lasts for 2 medium bowls of salad (or lasts 2 days for me as a single person).
I use it on green tossed salad, but have also used it on a pasta salad, rice salad or even coleslaw (I don’t like mayonnaise or cream dressings on my coleslaw).
Victoria, thank you for this recipe for lemon/vinegar and oil dressing. I love that it is for a smaller amount. The gigantic proportions of regular recipes are one of the reasons I don’t often make homemade, unless of course we are having company. Your recipe will allow me to add many different fresh herbs from my garden too! ~ Lynda
A friend just brought me a bag of small, sweet garden tomatoes today – I think this will do rather well for a weekend concoction. I do love pasta/veggie salads, because they keep well and if I do one on Sunday it’s there for two or three suppers during the week.
Sometimes I like to go the tomato, cucumber, black olive and feta route.
Sometimes I do chicken, tomato, zuchinni, yellow squash and onion with lemon and olive oil. Fresh grated parmesan always works!
Thank you for the suggestions, Linda! They all sound divine, but in particular I’m liking the one with the chicken because I happen to have a bit of smoked chicken we made for the the 4th on hand… can’t let that go to waste now can we? 😉
I planted 2 tomato plants on the window and the kids picked the first tomatoes off them yesterday but they ate them as such!
If I can save a few I will give this salad a go
it sounds amazing
Thank you Sawsan! I like it because it is so easy and a good way to use up fresh vegetables from my garden. Your children have the right idea. I too love to pick them off the vine, when they are warm from the sun, and so sweet! ~ L
I tried this yesterday and it RAWKED!!!!! Nothing left in the bowl! Easy, but fresh and filling, too. Thanks for sharing!
Oooo! Thank you Lynda! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
This salad sounds lovely! I can’t wait to try it this week. I have tomatoes galore this year. This morning I was up at 4:00 (only because FD was taking an early flight to Miami) and started two batches of roasted tomato sauce. It’s now 6:30 and I’m nearly finished cooking everything down. I’ll be enjoying my sauce on pasta and pizza this winter… YUM!
This sounds lovely, Lori! Would you be willing to share the recipe? 😀 I made over 40 pints of salsa last year and just finished the last jar about 2 weeks ago. With our drought I may not be able to do that again this year, but we’ll see. I hope you enjoy the salad! ~ L
I want a picture too! Great recipe – tomatoes are my favourite vegetable/fruit/food!
Julie, It’s coming! Mid week I think. 🙂
~ L