My big and easy pasta salad!

So it’s getting hotter. Ok, maybe it’s not getting hotter right now where you are right now, but it will, hang in there! I like making meals that can last for a few days, things that I can just go into the fridge, take some out and be good to go.  One of my favorites in pasta salad! I’ll post the easy way and the hard way, and give you some other alternatives. Give it a try this week! This also works GREAT for bringing to a BBQ or family get together! No one has to know it’s vegan and you will have something tasty to eat for yourself !

Stuff you’ll need:

Veganaise - you might be thinking… what??? Trust me, it’s tasty! And it’s in lots of stores now! If you are near a Whole Foods they will definitely have it, and different varieties. Call around to your local grocery stores to see if they carry it.There are also mayo alternatives that use grape seed oil. Or you could just go with out the mayo and pick a nice light Italian Dressing (make sure it doesn’t have eggs or dairy!)

Deli brown, horseradish or some other kind of fancy mustard (if you like mustard)

1 lb Pasta: I use brown rice pasta (I’ll explain how to cook that in a second) but you can use any pasta that you like..

Raw Veggies: Go wild! Pick your favorites. Chop up cucumbers, carrots, celery, onions, broccoli, peas, whatever your healthy heart desires!

Cherry tomato’s

Beans: Go for a garbanzo or chick pea – they work really well and don’t get mushy.

Black olives (sliced up)

Firm tofu (I’ll explain what to do with it in a second)

Seasoning: Pepper, garlic, (crushed or powder), Italian seasoning, a little sea salt. If you want to make it even easier, get one of those pre-made seasoning packets for Italian dressing.

Okay, now let’s get cooking.

First cook your pasta. If you want to try brown rice pasta (it’s healthier, and it’s tasty!) cook it for the recomended time, be sure to check on it as you are cooking it. As soon as you are done cooking it (make sure it’s not too hard) drain it and run cold water over it. This will make it stop cooking, and prevent it from getting mushy. Mushy pasta = bleh.

If you are using a different kind of pasta. Cook it, a little more than “aldante”  (so a minute or so after you think it’s done) and drain it, and then rinse with cold water right away.

While it’s cooking, get all your veggies out and start chopping. If you want to cheat – here is a tip… salad bars and the produce aisle! Often stores will have things pre-chopped ! Use organic canned beans and olives, and use small cherry tomato instead of chopping up tomatoes.

Get your tofu – make sure it’s the firm kind, take you can use as much or little as your healthy heart desires (I use about half of a package) and crumble it in your hands – just break it up, crumble it, or if you want to be all neat, you can put it in a chopper, or cut it in cubes, but really, your hands will work just fine.

Okay, next… get a BIG bowl You can really make as much of this as you want, so if you cooked a pound of pasta or more.

Put your cold pasta into the bowl. (I know, obvious right!)

Depending on how much pasta you’ve used, and how many veggies you are throwing in will depend on how much vegainse you will use. Start with a 1/2 cup of veganaise, and go from there, you’ll have to play around with it a little bit.

Before you add more veganaise though… add your veggies, beans, and tofu! And mix that baby up!

Add spices – usually I put in a half TBS of each spice until it tastes good to me – same with the mustard.

Sometimes I like to add some fresh avacado to the dish, but I don’t like keeping the avacodo in the salad as it sits in the fridge, it tends to go bad faster than the rest of the ingreidents.

Keep mixing, and soon you will have a delightful lunch or even summery dinner.

The ingredients:

big salad