Grilled Gazpacho Pasta Salad

I needed to make a family friendly side dish for our Mother's Day cookout in Indy. As much as burgers and brauts tempt me, I'm just not gonna do it. So I recreated a meal that I had made last summer, Grilled Gazpacho & Tubetti Salad. It is extremely nutritious and colorful, not to mention the wonderful hearty flavors of grilled veggies. Plus, it makes a ton so leftovers for the week!

Recipe:
10 tbsp. olive oil (estimate)
1 1/2lb cherry tomatoes
3 bell peppers (I use red and yellow, seed and cut in 1/4's)
2 medium red onions
4 medium zucchini, trimmed and halved lengthwise
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp. Sherry Vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 box tubetti pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Optional: 1 cup herbed feta. Or slice a few spicy, grilled sausages for the carnivores.

Soak skewers for grill. Cut peppers and onions in quarters for grill prep. Toss all veggies with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Skewer veggies. Skewer your tomatoes 4-5 per skewer. Lay zucchini on grill. Wrap garlic in foil once oiled and seasoned. Grill it. Tomatoes grill the fastest in 3-5 minutes. Peppers take about 8-10 minutes. Onions and zucchini take 12-15 minutes. Once done, peel half the peppers and throw them in a blender with half of the other veggies (1/2 toms, 1/2 zucchini, 1/2 onion) and all the garlic. Add the vinegar, sugar and press play. Then coarsely chop the remaining veggies. Prep your pasta and mix in a large bowl with the blended ingredients. Top with chopped veggies, herbs and feta. Serve and eat warm. However, it is damn good once it is refrigerated.

Vegan Bean Salad

So, I've been e-mailing my lady Erin about food and life and how much I miss chugging caffeinated beverages and working out with her. She's pretty much over cooking/baking. I can't blame her. She has worked in the restaurant industry for about a decade! But, I made this little number for dinner tonight in homage to Erin. It's pretty, it's simple and it's packed with wonderfulness (just like her).

Recipe:
I bag Frozen Organic Shelled Edamame
3 Fist fulls of Green Beans (trimmed and cut in half)
2 Ears of Sweet Corn (cut off the cob)
1 15oz can Red Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed)
Dressing:
1 large Shallot (diced)
1 tbsp Poppy seeds
1 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 cup Veg Oil (I used Organic Canola)

So, boil some water for the edamame. Once its boiling, throw the edamame in and let it get back to a boiling temperature. Once you are there, throw the green beans in. Cook for 4-6 minutes. Drain. Steam your corn if it's not fresh and then cut it and mix all beans and corn together in a bowl. Then (either whisk or use a food processor) mix the vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey, poppy seeds and oil (oil last) for the dressing. I found that this made two times the amount of dressing that I needed so I saved it in hopes of making more Bean Salad later this week. Last, toss the Bean-Corn mixture with dressing and eat. I don't mind eating this dish a little warm, but its much better if you make it and then eat it the next day for lunch. It is superb when it's cold.

This meal should take you no longer than 15 minutes to prepare. It's a fast one!