Tasty Tuesday!

Yay, finally a post that isn't related to BlogHer '09! Ok, so there's one more tomorrow, but ... it's more focused on my silly husband and less on the conference, so I'm not sure it really counts.

Anyway, I didn't do a ton of cooking this week since I was downtown for five of the days. I was smart enough to make up some of my favorite pasta salad that keeps well that I know will provide at least a little variety (and homemaded-ness to my family's diet while out of town).

Of course, with all this running around, that means no pictures again, but I promise to do better next week!

Perfect Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta, e.g., rigatoni (I use whole grain)
2 ears of corn, roasted and de-eared
3 marinated artichoke hearts
1/3 c kalamata olives
3 roma tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 T fresh basil
4 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 c feta, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Roast the corn on the grill of over the stove (my lazy method in bad weather) until lightly browned on each side. Make sure you peel it first. Then just lay it on the gas burners, and turn it with a set of tongs every few minutes. Stand the ear in a large plate or jellyroll pn, and use a very sharp knife to cut along the ear to remove the kernels.

Cook the rigatoni according to the package directions, making sur to leave it just a touch more al dente than you normally would.

Chop all the remaining veggies into bite-sized pieces. Chiffonade the basil, and mince the garlic.

Add all ingredients to a bowl (preferably while the pasta is still hot to allow the flavors to absorb better into the pasta). Stir to combine, then let sit overnight and serve cold.

Check out recipes like this at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday with Blessed by Grace each week.

Yum!

Enjoy!