EBTKS? What the hell is that? It’s an acronym I made up…for the purpose of shortening this entry’s title. EBTKS means Everything But The Kitchen Sink. This morning I made pasta salad. I know what you’re thinking. Who cares, right? Everyone makes pasta salad, huh? I rarely feel daring enough to experiment with a recipe…let alone try and make my own recipe. This morning, however? I was so adventurous that I not only created my own recipe…I also skipped a shower and have little intention of taking one before 4pm. Oh yeah, and I’m wearing yesterday’s socks. You got me…I was joking about the socks…they’re fresh.
The recipe for pasta salad is flexible. There are few things that you shouldn’t put in pasta salad. Jelly, for example. Other than that you can add pretty much whatever you like…or whatever you need to use up. But not eggs…even if they are close to the expiration date. And I’d probably stay away from Spaghetti Os…I’m fairly certain that wouldn’t be good. Seriously, the point I’m trying to make is this: YOU CAN’T SCREW UP PASTA SALAD. That should be comforting to even the beginning cooks. I used some things I had on hand…things that Larry and I like. That’s a pretty important detail…use things that you like…and eliminate things you don’t like. We don’t eat tomatoes, so we don’t have them. I don’t like black olives, and since I’m the cook, we don’t have black olives in our pasta salad. Without further delay…
EBTKS Pasta Salad
1 box wheat pasta, cooked
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bunch asparagus, boiled 2-3 minutes and plunged into cold water to stop cooking
1 cup frozen peas
16 oz. Kraft Free Zesty Italian
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste
A few notes
I boiled the asparagus in a large pan but with a small amount of water. I then filled the same pan with water for the pasta after the asparagus was finished. This helped to keep my cleanup a snap. I actually only dirtied one pan and lid, one knife, and one spoon. Not bad!
While the pasta was cooking I chopped all of the veggies. The asparagus was very coarsely chopped into 1″ pieces. The cucumber and red pepper were coarsely chopped. The onion was finely chopped.
I used a cooking onion because it’s what I had on hand. To tone down the onion a little, since it wasn’t an eating type of onion, I microwaved it in a little olive oil for about a minute. Then I chilled it in the fridge. If you use a shallot or red onion you could leave it raw.
I didn’t thaw the peas. They’ll thaw in the fridge.
I only used a little over half the bottle of dressing. It looked pretty wet, but pasta can sure absorb the liquid. I’ll probably end up adding another quarter of the bottle tomorrow before serving. You can eyeball the dressing…once it sits overnight you may need to add more.
When taste testing I sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese over the top. It tasted fine, but I think I’d prefer it without.
Like I said, it’s whatever you like. Add and subtract as you wish.
Today, my challenge to you: Be Daring…Be Adventurous…Be In Your Pjs until 4pm…
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