...eat? Farmers Market Pasta Salad

I thoroughly enjoy cooking, baking and generally just playing with ingredients.  Sometimes I create wonderful treats and sometimes my family has to choke down my failures.  A while back I started wondering if I should buy a new crock pot just so people wouldn't see mine and know which food I brought to functions. Then I discovered that people had been seeking out the dishes I usually bring. I had somehow managed to amass a "following" since it was well known that I tend to bring healthy food that they genuinely enjoy. 

My church, North City Presbyterian Church, has a wonderful opportunity for fellowship after each Sunday morning service.  There are volunteers (each assigned to a particular Sunday each month) that bring snacks to share with the entire church body.  Yesterday was my Sunday and the pressure was on to have a snack ready by Saturday afternoon.  A vegetable tray is always a given and I had made a beautiful one...but it turned out smaller than usual.  Now I needed to bring another dish, but was at a loss for ideas.  I drew blank looks from my husband when I asked him for suggestions so I was on my own.  We recently switched to eating mostly local food which automatically means eating seasonally so my options have been limited a great deal in this regard.  I had only planned on taking a veggie tray and had already finished my grocery shopping for the week so whatever items I had on hand were the food assets from which I could create.  I was drawing a blank until suddenly pasta salad appeared in my head as the answer!!!  I had beautiful asparagus and some fresh dill that I had just picked up in my CSA box from Suzie's Farm and I was eager to use them both.  After searching Google for a few ideas I came across a recipe that was close to what I wanted so I added and replaced until it suited my recipe wants.  What resulted was a pasta salad that was absolutely wonderful and had people going back for seconds and requesting the recipe.  So, by popular demand, here's the recipe for my Farmers Market Pasta Salad (adapted from a recipe by Ellie Krieger on Food Network)


Farmers Market Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1 pound spiral shaped brown rice pasta
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends trimmed
8 oz fresh peas (or frozen peas, thawed)
8 oz crumbled feta cheese
1 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped finely
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup garlic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced  (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place asparagus on baking sheet and drizzle very lightly with olive oil; toss to coat asparagus well.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until crisp tender.  Remove from oven and cut into 1 inch pieces.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.  When al dente, be sure to rinse the pasta under cold water until pasta is completely cooled
3. In a large bowl, toss cooled pasta with the asparagus, peas, feta cheese, onion, and dill. 
4. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, vinegar, garlic and onion powder and pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate for at least an hour, but overnight is ideal as the flavors will blend as they sit.

Feel free to use whole wheat pasta instead of the brown rice pasta.  My family likes the brown rice pasta because it tastes more like the worthless white pasta we ate in our unhealthy years.  Or add more oil, vinegar, garlic or onion powder to reach desired flavor. Enjoy!


What's your favorite pasta salad?  Please share!