Rebecca's Corner: Awaken Your Taste Buds

AWAKEN YOUR TASTE BUDS

story and photos by Rebecca Giese

Nothing screams summer more than a fun afternoon in the backyard, park, or on the lake having a cookout. Burgers, ribs, hotdogs - the protein always seems to be the star and the sides are an afterthought. You see the same sides at every family barbeque - deviled eggs, potato salad, coleslaw, and so on. Now, don't get me wrong, they taste great, and I love a good potato salad, all those mayonnaise-based sides seem to start to taste the same. Sometimes you need something different to wake up the taste buds and add a little excitement to the spread. My pasta salad has become a signature side to bring to any social event and is always a highly requested recipe. I created this pasta salad when I desired to make a Medterrain pasta salad but have a boyfriend that hates olives and is sensitive to dairy. A regular Medterrain salad with feta and black olives wouldn't do, but I loved the olive oil and red wine vinegar base, so using that as a jumping-off point, I create the Summertime Pasta Salad. It has a bright bite with the red wine vinegar, balanced spice with the red onion, and the dill adds an extra kick of freshness.

Summertime Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS 1 12 oz box of farfalle (bow tie) pasta 1 red onion diced 1 large cucumber quartered and sliced 1 small container of cherry tomatoes quartered (I used the heirloom variety for variation in colors) 1/2 - 2/3 cup of red wine vinegar (start with 1/2 cup and add more if desired) 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tbsp dried dill 1 tsp garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1- Boil the pasta following the directions on the box. Drain the pasta and set it aside to cool. 2- While the pasta is cooking and cooling, now is the perfect time to prep your red onion, cucumber, and tomatoes. After prepping, place all in a large bowl.

3- Once pasta is cooled completely, add it to the bowl with the cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion. Now add the red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried dill, garlic powder, salt, and Pepper. Stir until everything is coated evenly. Take a taste test to see if you love the bright bite from vinegar; you may want to add a little more at this point. 4- Serve immediately or make ahead! It tastes even better the second day!