While it is not quite vegetable season here, with the weather getting warmer those cravings for light fresh salads have arrived.  We were going to a Mother’s Day picnic and had to decide on something to bring.  Normally I would have made a regular macaroni salad with the mayo, tuna and eggs but the air smelled so good outside I wanted something light and fresh.  I had nothing in mind but a quick trip to the grocery store and going up and down the aisles I picked up items that just sounded good to me.  Here is what I put together, it turned out so delicious. I hope you try it out!!

Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta
1 pack grape tomatoes
1 large zucchini
1 large bunch of broccoli broke into florets
1 c sunflower seeds
¾ c dried cranberries
½ c crumbled goat cheese

Dressing:
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
½ tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. honey
½ tbsp. grated onion
Salt and pepper

Directions
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.

While the pasta is cooking, cut the zucchini into cubes and place them in a large bowl.  Quarter the grape tomatoes and separate the broccoli into florets.  Place them all in the same bowl.

Make dressing by placing all of the ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup.  I like to use a measuring cup because it makes it easy to pour out.  Mix all the ingredients together using a small whisk.

Add the cooled pasta to the bowl, the sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and crumbled goat cheese.  lightly toss to combine everything.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is coated well.   Salt and pepper to taste.

If you wanted a little more green, add some fresh spinach or arugula to it.  If you don’t like dried cranberries, you can substitute dried cherries or even raisins.  Any way you decide, I am sure you with think it is Mangialicious.

Ingredients:
6 Roma Tomatoes, chopped or 4 or 5 small vine tomatoes, chopped
2 or 3 long green hot peppers, seeded (and or 1 bell pepper, any color)
½ purple onion, peeled & finely chopped (and or scallions finely chopped)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, zest and juice
Salt and Pepper to taste (dash of chili powder, optional)
Cilantro (small handful, chopped)

Even though our garden veggies are not ready yet, the warmer weather has gotten me excited about salsa.  One thing I love to eat all summer long is fresh salsa!  I could and will pretty much put it on anything from corn chips to rice or quinoa, to a chicken breast.  Before we got our food processor, I would chop everything with a knife, which works well… but I find it much easier and quicker now.  “Pulse, pulse, pulse” and I am done!  It takes a total of about 10 minutes from start to finish and I find I make it way more often since the addition of a food processor to our “kitchen family”.  

I pretty much use whatever I have on hand, whether it be green, red or long green hot peppers, purple onion or scallions (sometimes both), cilantro or parsley,  Roma or small vine tomatoes.  Most often I use fresh garlic, but not always.  Sometimes I even add a few slices of melon to give it a bit of sweetness.  One thing I ALWAYS include is the lime.  The lime in my opinion is the STAR to my fresh yummy salsa. I also always use the long green hot peppers (dark green finger or Hungarian) as we like a bit of heat to our salsa with that fresh limey blast!

So just give those veggies a rinse and a rough chop (remove stems, cut in halves, seed the peppers), toss them into the food processor, add the oil, the lime juice and the zest (for a more mild lime flavor, leave the zest out....Are you crazy!?) and the salt & pepper(s) to taste.  “Pulse, pulse, pulse” to your desired chunkiness.   Yum!   No food processor?  Get chopping with your best sharp knife… be careful please.  This makes enough mangialicious salsa for about  4-6 people.