Build-Your-Own Pasta Salad Because It's Too Darn Hot To Cook

It has been so stinkin' hot here lately.  Honestly, I don't know how all you Southern people do it, bless your hearts!  Yesterday hovered somewhere around the 110F mark.  All day.  In Wisconsin.

We don't do that here. 

I don't know about you, but this Mom isn't cooking a darn thing today.

Three weeks ago (my last post - I'm sorry), my daughter caught some annoying illness from camp.  She then brought whatever it was home, and then my son ended up with it.  And then, naturally, it took me out for several days.  How my husband didn't catch it is beyond me, but good for him because it stunk.  At any rate, I've been trying to get caught up with everything, and this heat is really dragging me down.  But, it's coming together.  Slowly.  And tonight for dinner, I'm not cooking at all.  (You can't see it, but my grin is large, my friends.  Large, indeed.)

I decided to do a Build-Your-Own Pasta Salad dinner using nothing more than the pasta salad ingredients I generally reach for, and only what I had on hand (because the inside of my car is infinitely hotter than the air outside and I don't want to get into it).   Plus, I'm in no mood to listen to anyone complain about a dinner not made-to-order, customized specifically to what each individual likes...I don't get paid enough.  So...

Is it just me, or does this photo look a little too 1950's cheesy cookbook-like?

Onto a platter I piled all the fun veggies, cheese, olives, herbs, and beans I had in the cupboard, freezer and refrigerator.  Leftover chicken or beef is good, too, if you have it (I didn't).  In this picture, you can see that I made some self-serve piles of tomatoes, bell pepper, Cannellini and Garbanzo beans, black and green olives, red onion, and cucumber, as well as some fun little mozzarella balls (chunked fresh mozzarella works just fine as well) and diced feta cheese.  I tossed in some fresh basil, oregano and thyme, too, to be torn at the plate.  You can use whatever you have on hand; shredded carrots, sliced radishes, chopped spinach or arugula, and/or some spunky Asiago or some great Parmesan cheese would be all great additional choices as well.

Those toppings are mixed with some penne or rotini or fusilli pasta, cooked, cooled, and tossed with some olive oil to prevent sticking and a few sprinkles of red wine vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper for extra flavor.

Set out a couple of your favorite vinaigrettes to dress the salad.  I had a red wine and balsamic Italian vinaigrette in the fridge, and I made a Lemon Oregano Vinagrette for those members of my family who love lemon.

Set out the salt and pepper grinder, maybe add a little fruit and some crusty bread, if you want, and dinner is served; everyone heaps a pile of pasta onto their plates then adds what they like, topping it with the herbs and vinaigrette of their choice.

And everything can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

And the kitchen remains cool.

And so does Mom.

(And yes, those are the Cheeky French Chefs of all Crappy Pictures France on my wine cooler thingamajob. You missed the ice cubes in my red wine glass; Baby, if loving this is wrong, I don't want to be right - it's too darn hot to care.)

White Bean Salad

Originally this post was going to be about making various vinaigrettes. I had made three different vinaigrettes and had big plans to photograph them and offer several recipes along with a tutorial about how to make and customize them.

Then, I ate them in various dishes and forgot to take the pictures.

I'm sorry.

But the salads were good.

I will do it soon, though, because the basic formula for The Vinaigrette is indispensable for the summer salads, regardless of whether the salads are full of greens, beans, potatoes, vegetables, pastas, or a combination. 

For most of the people for whom I cooked Saturday evening, the main course was a white kidney bean salad marinated in a lovely red wine vinaigrette (with a side of tomato basil focaccia).  For the two of my family who don't like beans so much, a salad topped with sauteed chicken marinated in the same vinaigrette was the main show.  Both were easy, fresh, and summery, and both were delicious.

In this salad, I suggest de-seeded cucumbers.  To do this, peel your cucumber (if needed), and slice it in half lengthwise.  With a spoon, scrape out the seeds.

Slice it and dice it accordingly.

The longer this salad marinates, the better it tastes.  At least 30 minutes is necessary, and leftovers only get better.  If you do have leftovers, store the bean mixture by itself (not with the greens) in the fridge.


White Bean Salad
serves 4-5 as a main course

• 2 c cooked cannellini beans
• 1 c chopped red onion (about 1 small onion)
• 1/2 cucumber, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped (or a handful of grape tomatoes, halved or quartered)
• 5-6 cups fresh greens (to include plenty of arugula)
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
• garlic croutons, preferably homemade (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the beans, onion, cucumber, and tomatoes.

In a 1/2 pint jar or other small container with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.

Tighten the lid and shake like crazy.

Pour over the bean mixture and mix well.

Allow to marinate at room temperature at least 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if necessary.

Arrange the greens among the plates.  Top evenly with the bean mixture, spooning extra marinade from the bottom of the bean bowl over the beans and greens.  Top each plate with crumbled feta cheese and garlic croutons, if using.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

My son's favorite creamy potato soup was the inspiration for this chunky, cheesy vegetable chowder.  Potatoes do take a primary place in this soup, but by increasing the other vegetables, and adding corn and cheese to the mix, the original recipe takes on a smooth, sweet, rich flavor that quickly made this chowder another favorite to keep in our rotation.

Sometimes I find that I am out of vegetable broth when I've already started planning and even beginning to make this chowder.  Because there are so many other flavors in this particular soup, a quick saute of the vegetables seems to be enough to generate a good background flavor.  In the case of the bowl in the picture, I discovered a little too late that I only had about 1 1/2 cups of broth to add and needed to balance it out with just plain old water, but it still worked out in the end with the quick saute and the addition of a little more salt.  I love how versatile soup making can be.

To make this chowder vegan, use olive oil to saute the vegetables, and skip the last four ingredients (butter, flour, milk, and cheese).  After the soup has simmered, use a stick blender to puree about half of the mixture; creaming the vegetables, especially with all of the potatoes, will generate a thickened, creamy soup without all of the butter and cheese.  And if you, like me, like all the butter and cheese (Mmmm!) and still find you would like the soup to be thicker, go ahead and use the stick blender to puree a few of the veggies until the soup reaches your desired thickness.

I would like to thank one of my favorite bloggers, Soni from Soni's Food For Thought, for passing on some awards to The Art of Cooking Real Food.  While I love Indian food, I'm not so experienced with knowing what we will like and how to make the dishes.  Soni has shared some fantastic recipes from an area of cuisine where I do not excel, making it possible to for my family (and yours!) to enjoy some wonderful Indian food right at home.  Thanks so much, Soni!

And don't forget that all April long a berry lovin' blog hop is going on!  You will find some of the most incredible berry recipes to add to  your collection from some of the most talented bloggers in the 'net.  You can find a constantly updated list at the bottom of Blueberry Cheese Pie.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
serves 6

• 1 Tbs butter
• 4 c potatoes, diced
• 1 c carrots, diced
• 3/4 c onion, diced
• 1/2 c celery (plus any leaves), diced
• 1/2 c cut corn (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 1/2 c vegetable broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 Tbs freshly chopped parsley
• 1/3 c butter
• 1/3 c flour
• 2 1/2 c milk
• 1 1/2 c shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese

Heat 1 Tbs butter in stockpot over medium high heat.  Add potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, corn, and garlic.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add broth, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the parsley. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, melt 1/3 cup butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to blend.  Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly.  Cook mixture approximately 5-6 minutes, or until the mixture begins bubble and has thickened, whisking often to prevent the milk from burning. Stir in the cheese until melted.

Slowly add the milk mixture to the vegetables and broth, stirring to blend.  Give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.