This pasta salad doubles as your vegetable dish.

This is our favorite pasta salad—it’s officially summer when this is served. I like this recipe because it is very light and flavorful and  is loaded with a lot of different vegetables. If you’re a meat eater and want to eat this as a main course, add some cubed, cooked chicken and serve with a crusty bread and some fresh melon.

Pasta Salad

• 3 c. various shaped pasta, cooked al dente, then drained and rinsed under cold water
• 5 c. vegetables, any combination of the following (to blanch any of the vegetables just add them to the pasta water 1 minute before the pasta is finished cooking):

• sliced black olives
• quartered artichoke hearts
• blanched broccoli florets
• sliced cherry tomatoes
• sliced sweet red peppers
• sliced celery
• chopped fresh parsley
• blanched mushrooms
• blanched sliced sweet onions
• blanched thinly sliced carrots
• 1 c. cubed, cooked chicken (optional)

Mix all of the following dressing ingredients in a blender, then pour over the pasta and vegetables:

• 3/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1-1/2 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 large clove garlic

Stir everything together, chill for an hour or more before serving.