Greek Pasta Salad

Bring on the warm weather, bring on the pasta salad. The two go hand in hand, don't you think? If there is one food item that epitomizes summer, it would be cold pasta.

And ice cream.

And seviche.

And gazpacho.

Ok, ok, scratch that. The correct terminology is probably more like "If there is one of many food items that epitomize summer, it would be cold pasta". But that doesn't sound as cool, does it?

But in all seriousness, Greek food and summer are likethis. Greek food is light, yet heavy on veggies. Low in trans fat, yet high in heart-healthy saturated fats. Low in calories, high in flavor. You get the idea. Greek food is ideal for summer, where their standout flavors are rich olive oil, creamy feta cheese, and loads of crisp tomatoes and cucumbers. A squeeze of lemon here, a salty kalamata olive there. 

And then, there's hummus.

Hummus is not technically from Greece, but it goes divinely with Greek food. The two are always served together in our house. 

You might be noticing different pasta in some of the pictures. You are not going crazy. I actually combined pictures from 2 different batches of salad to make up this post. Mainly because that's true life here. I don't just make this salad with one type of pasta, I typically throw in whatever pasta I have on hand. Farfalle? Yes! Cavatappi? You betcha! Elbow macaroni? Bring it on! You could really think of this like a kitchen sink salad. Whatever you have on hand, toss it in! Capers, giardiniera, even a protein like chicken or shrimp could be added to this salad.

And, despite what I said, it doesn't have to be summer to eat this salad :)

So... I've been sitting here for, oh, about 45 minutes trying to think of something to write. Does that happen to other bloggers? Ugh. This always seems to happen when I have an appointment looming that I need to get to. My writing schedule got a little wonky this week due to the holiday. I was actually going to post my Spring centerpiece Sunday morning, post a food recipe on Monday, and then take Tuesday off, write on Wednesday. The Sunday post never happened, pushing Sunday to Monday, and Monday to Tuesday, and Tuesday to...

Well, I just took a peek at tomorrow's schedule. An 8 am doctor's appointment. For the love. Needless to say, there will be no posting tomorrow. No Google "plussing", no FaceBooking, no pinning. Just no. 

Which means, I have to think of something to say today. So I can hoard my early morning winks tomorrow. 

And what do you know? It's already the end of the post :) 

I'll leave y'all with an idea of what I'm working on today, food wise-

This salty churro toffee snack mix

This pepperoni pizza dip I made for Easter

Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream

I hope everyone has a delicious Wednesday!

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

Dressing-

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

14 tsp pepper

Salad-

8 ounces pasta, cooked and rinsed under cold water

3 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

1/3 cup kalamata olives, halved

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

5-6 pepperoncinis, sliced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare dressing- in a small bowl, combine red wine vinegar through pepper. Whisk to combine. Set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, combine pasta through parsley. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss to combine. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light. 

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Traditional Greek Salad

Spicy Thai Peanut Salad with Chicken

Whole Wheat Tortellini with Corn and Tomato Relish

Linked to: Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday