Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad

My daughter has been in town visiting from Southern California this past week, and when the two of us get together we just can't help ourselves, we have to get cooking! After all, that is our favorite pastime. We were in heaven wandering Whole Foods today (for way to long) searching for inspiration for something to make for dinner. What resulted was one of the tastiest pasta salads I have created to date. The whole grain noodles and Vegan Gardein Chick'n added substance to the dish, and all of the fresh seasonal veggies added a rainbow of colors! Color is always a good sign when you are eating for health. The best part about this salad is that it is really good eaten cold or room temperature so it is perfect for summer  picnics or potlucks. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!


Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb. whole wheat penne rigate noodles
Cook according to Pckg. directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Spike seasoning
Heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Season the chick'n with spike seasoning and saute in the pan until lightly browned on both sides. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then slice into 2 inch pieces.

1/4 cup chopped green onion, white and green parts
1 lb. asparagus, steamed and sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced in 2 inch pieces
8-10 basil leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp. Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese or any vegan cheese of choice
Chop all veggies and place in a large bowl or serving platter.

Creamy Dill Dressing:
zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp. dried dill
2 Tbsp. Veganaise or Tofutti vegan sour cream
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp mustard
4-5 splashes green Tabasco sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh black pepper (few pinches)

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside.

Assembling the salad:
Place the pasta noodles, Gardein Chick'n, veggies and Vegan cheese into a large bowl or serving dish.  Add all of the dressing and toss to coat. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta liquid and toss one more time. Enjoy!!

Me and my beautiful daughters (Debbie (ME), Morgan & Heather)
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6 comments:

  1. Wow! Which one are you?! Nice looking family!

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  2. Thank you for stopping by and the nice compliment!! I posted above which picture is me. You already know my daughter, Morgan. I love your Shenandoah Vegan Blog and will be following it:)

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  3. Seriously, you really look like sisters. I'm not just saying that. Must be the healthy living.

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  4. Thank you so much Shen-You are my new best friend! I will be following your fun blog.

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  5. Ok, this was really one of the yummiest pasta salads I had ever had!!! It was amazing!

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