As with any pasta salad, you can serve it as a refreshing summer side dish, or you can make it your main dish by just adding a protein, such as chicken or shrimp.  Pasta salads can tend to be heavy and fatty.  The following recipe tickles your taste buds and leaves you feeling happy without weighing you down. 

The Dressing:

6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon capers, drained

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

The Pasta:

1/2 pound gemelli (thin spirals) pasta

Salt

Olive oil

1 pint ripe cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and diced

1 pound fresh mozzarella, bite size dice

8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

The Garnish:

1-cup fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup packed basil leaves, julienne

Cook the pasta salted, boiling water. Boil for 12 minutes, or until al    dente. Drain and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine all of the above “dressing” ingredients in a food processor and blend until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, add the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.  Serve chilled.  Add grilled chicken or grilled shrimp to make this a main dish or other wish just serve as is.  You are guaranteed to impress someone!

I guess those spice racks that you purchase at a major bed, bath and kitchen supply store are sleek and have everything that you need to spice your food with, but my question is……How long has that spice rack been on the shelf and where did those spices come from?   And what do you do with half of those spices really? 

Well if you are crafty enough to cook and use those spices, then you are crafty enough to go to a hardware store or a craft store and find some really cool looking jars to store your spices in.  But the whole point of my blog here is to make sure that your spices are less than a year old, and when purchasing spices, don’t buy those $.99 spice that don’t have any taste.  Spend a few bucks on the spices I’m going to list below, because if you really want to make a tasty meal, you need spices that have taste.

Must Have Spices:     $ (under 4 bucks)  $$ (4-6 bucks)  $$$ (over 6 bucks)

Parsley $
Oregano $$
Basil  $$
Thyme $$
Bay Leaves $$
Paprika $$
Smoked Paprika $$$
Cumin $$
Cinnamon Sticks $$$
Onion Powder $
Garlic Powder $
Cayenne $$
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt $$
Whole Black Pepper $$
 

Stay tuned for dishes you can use a variety of these spices in……