Garden Fresh Vegetable Rotini Salad

Considering this was the first year of home gardening,with limited space and brief abandonment during the vacation,it was a pretty good harvest over all.Herbs like cilantro and mint for some reason did not thrive,but thyme and fenugreek were in abundance.Carrots,kale,lettuce,okra,peppers and tomatoes turned out to be a great start for a beginner gardener like me.

Wish I had the right tool to dig out the carrots,it seemed forever to dig deep enough to get the them out whole.Since these were organic the size was smaller and taster was less sweeter.If you have noticed,these were also unique in its shades of color,from light orange to dark purple(I could not get the picture of that deep purple one though).A Pasta Salad suites best with such garden fresh vegetables,juicy and nutritious with no cooking required except for the pasta.

The pasta salad is my entry for Presto Pasta nights,hosted this week by Claudia of Honey from a Rock

Recipe :Garden fresh Vegetable Rotini Salad
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
1/2 pound Whole grain Rotini pasta.
2 medium carrots,cut in long thin strips
1 cup tender salad greens(I used baby kale,carrot greens)
1 cup cherry tomatoes,halved
1 big clove garlic,minced
3-4 small sweet peppers,seeded and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
2 tablespoon fresh parsley,finely chopped

Method
Cook the pasta until al-dente(not soft but with a bite to it) as per the package directions.Drain and cool.Transfer in a large salad bowl.
Make the dressing by whisking the oil with vinegar,salt,pepper and parsley.Pour over the pasta,toss in rest of the vegetables and combine well.Serve immediately or could be keep an hour to let the flavors fuse.



Make no mistake,the succulent garden fresh okra stir fry does not go with pasta,its a perfect complement with flat bread or brown rice.Find the recipe of Okra stir fry here.

An important note about the Health Nut Challenge,I am unable to continue it due to time constraints.But I promise to post the round up of Tropical temptations as soon as I can squeeze in time to work on it.

Thyme Olive Oil Shortbread

Thyme was one of the few herbs that survived despite my poor gardening skills.The lush green fragrant herb made in to many dishes including soups,stews and finally in this scrumptious shortbread recipe.


Shortbread or crackers?,depends on how thin the dough is rolled.Thinner for crackers and thicker for shortbread.Butter is replaced with fruity olive oil and the aroma of fresh thyme is the most apparent in the flavor,these are a perfect accompaniment with warming soups.

Recipe :Thyme Shortbread
Yields over a dozen rectangular shortbread
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour(fine ground)
6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme,leaves separated
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar or 2 teaspoon agave nectar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon cold water

Method
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare the dough by combining all the ingredients either in large mixing bowl or in food processor,do not over mix.Cover the dough and set in fridge for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough in to 2 portions. Take one portion at a time and roll in to 1/4 inch thick rectangular sheet. Place on a greased baking sheet.Score the rolled dough(can use a pizza cutter) on the sheet in to rectangular or square shapes.
Place on a baking sheet,bake for about 15-18 minutes while keeping a close eye until golden brown on the edges.Cool on rack before storing in a tight jar.Good for a week,but tastes best on same day baked.


Hosting Weekend Herb Blogging #254

I'll be hosting the Weekend Herb Blogging event for the week(October 4th-10th).Share your unusual delicious foods.Talk about the one unique ingredient used and please keep the entries exclusive(cannot be sent to other food events).For more rules check here and send your entries to YasmeenHealthnut AT gmail DOT com.