Welcome back, Kotter.

Well aren’t you just surprised to see me again! It’s been forever, I know. Sometimes life just gets in the way. I usually test out most of the recipes that end up on this blog on the weekends, when I have a fun thing called “free time.” It’s still a foreign concept to me. Between having every second of the last month’s weekends packed with majorly important stuff (Ph.D. commencement, bridal shower, dying from the flu, etc.) and trying to go to the gym 3-4x a week (still going strong after 3 months!), there’s literally not been a day when I’ve had the time or energy to sit down and write a post. My laziness has been transferred from not exercising to not blogging.  Sorry, pals.

ANYWAYS. Part of the shift in seasons, which seems to be happening so slowly this year, is the inevitable changes in foods that make their way onto my dinner plate.  As soon as it’s feasible for me to grill, I cook the majority of my meals that way so that my apartment doesn’t reach thermonuclear heat levels. Since even putting my stove on for any lengthy period makes it a sauna, I try to limit hot cooking as much as possible. My favorite way to avoid unnecessary heat is to make a giant pasta salad and eat it throughout the week. This conveniently cuts down on cooking for the week, and allows you to throw in whatever random produce you might have laying around. I never met a pasta salad I didn’t like, and this is the most basic, year-round version I’ve come up with. Since it was torrential downpouring on Friday, when my farmers market was open, I didn’t catch anything fresh, so this features frozen veggies, but feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand.

Simple Pasta Salad (designed by me!)

What You’ll Need

• 1 box of pasta (typically rotini, cavatappi, farfalle, or any other pasta with a squiggly shape that will trap the dressing well)
• 1 bag frozen mixed vegetable (carrots, corn, green beans)
• 1 ham steak (¼” thick – may purchase at deli or buy Hatfield’s prepackaged)
• 1 cup reduced fat or fat-free mayo
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp celery salt
• Copious amounts of black pepper
• Salt to taste

What To Do:

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Even though I only eat whole wheat pasta when serving it hot with a tomato or alfredo sauce, I almost always use regular white pasta when making salads. I think the nuttiness of whole wheat pasta might overwhelm the other flavors here, and make it a heavier dish.

I forget the name of these little guys, but they were shrimpy in size and had 3 fun spirals on each side. Good enough for me.

After the pasta is cooked to al dente perfection (seriously, you don’t want it mushy here), rinse it under cold water for about 2 minutes. You can use a spoon or your hands to continuously move the pasta so that all of it will be chilled. Keep it in the colander and let it drain while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Put the frozen veggies in a saucepot and just cover them with water. Heat on high until they just come to a boil, then remove them from the heat.

While the veggies are cooking, cut the ham steak into ¼” cubes.

Dump the pasta into a large mixing bowl. Transfer the veggies to the colander, then rinse them with cold water just as you did for the pasta. Once they are no longer hot, dump them on top of the pasta, and add the ham cubes.

Add the mayo and stir well so that all of the pasta is evenly coated. Full disclosure: I don’t actually measure how much mayo I put in. I approximated that it was about a cup, but it definitely depends on a) what ingredients you’re including in your salad and b) how much you like mayo. While I like the flavor, I’m one of those people who doesn’t like things overly mayo-ey. You can add more or less to get it to the consistency you like – I would say this one ended up “lightly” mayo-ed. If 1 cup seems like a lot, remember that you have an entire pound of pasta, veggies, and meat in there – it’s not as much as it seems.

Add the celery salt, garlic salt, and onion powder, then mix well. As for pepper, I usually add an even black layer over the top of the salad, which is about 3 tbsp worth. It seems like pepper overkill, but this is what gives the salad it’s great flavor, so don’t skimp! Give everything a really good stirring so that the spices aren’t clumped in any one area.

I recommend chilling this for an hour before eating, but you can also serve it right away if it’s mealtime. If you don’t have time to pre-chill it, then it’s very important to make sure you rinse the pasta and veggies until they’re cool to the touch.

I served this with a grilled BBQ chicken breast and some oven-baked garlic bread. What an easy, tasty, and light summer meal!

The Ugly Duckling

I made this recipe quite some time ago, and it’s been sitting in my to-post folder since then. It’s not because the recipe was bad – on the contrary, I found it to be quite yummy. It was mostly because, as you will soon see, it just LOOKS sort of…poopy. Literally. I figured I needed to lull my reading audience into a false sense of security before springing something visually gross onto you. So, three cheers for having made it long enough that when I am a) sick as a dog and b) running out of things to post, we have reached the point where you now face The Ugly Duckling Salad. 

Balsamic Pea Salad (adapted from here)

What You Need:

• 16 oz. package of frozen green peas
• ¼” thick slice of Virginia ham
• 1 small container fat free feta cheese
• ½ cup fat free mayonnaise
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp black pepper

First, thaw the peas by running them under slightly warm water while in a colander.  Do this until the peas are soft to the touch.

Next, cut the ham into small cubes.

Roughly chop the green onions.

Combine the dry ingredients with the peas in a large mixing bowl.

Add the mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar. Stir until the liquids are evenly mixed with the rest of the ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld and intensify.

Judging from the final picture, you can see why I was hesitant to eat this, nevermind bring it to the church group gathering I had made it for. The color was sort of a dingy brown, due to mixing the balsamic vinegar with the mayo, but the taste was excellent. Once we all got over the appearance, it was pretty much unanimously enjoyed. Depending on how “wet” you like your salad, you can cut down on mayo, but I liked the amount I used because it counterbalances the acidity and tartness of the balsamic vinegar.  The next time I make this, I will try using white balsamic, which should clear up the color issue. I added the ham because I wanted to make it a slightly more substantial side dish, but this could easily be made with chicken, tofu for a vegetarian version, or without any meat/meat substitute at all. It might also be interesting to experiment with using some of the flavored feta cheeses that are available, or by adding other veggies to the mix.  This is an extremely quick, easy, and versatile salad that would be great at a summer cookout, or as a side dish to any winter meal. Enjoy!