Recipe: Summer Salad – Tomato Pesto Mozzarella Panzanella

If you are looking for an authentic, traditional panzanella salad, you’d be better off with this one from Giada De Laurentis. But if you want something equally delicious,  that can be made in about 4 minutes, I’m your girl! There is no toasting of the bread, no seeding or peeling of tomatoes, or other fussy steps.

A bounty of tomatoes from Common Hands Farm

Recipe: Fresh Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is a summertime staple. It’s quick to make, universally enjoyed, and affordable. The only downside to the usual pasta salad? Gobs of mayo, and overcooked pasta.

You’re not going to find either of those things in this recipe!

This salad uses extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice; the juice from the fresh tomatoes also adds moisture. And for the pasta, I tend to use only Barilla brand. I think they are the best commercial brand out there, and you can choose from traditional, whole wheat or mixed.

The real star of this dish, though, is the produce. You can add a huge burst of flavor, color and nutrition with the creative use of veggies of all kinds. In this particular version, I used what I had on hand, but the variations are endless.

Recipe: Curried Spinach with Raisins

You can look at this recipe two ways:  as a quick and tasty side dish, or a mega-dose of nutritional goodness on a plate.

To discover the “quick and tasty”, you will have to take my word for it; for the nutrition, check this out:

• Full nutritional profile of spinach
• Benefits of curry
• Resveratrol-packed raisins
• Monounsaturated fats in olive oil