This is a quick and easy pasta that’s a great way to utilize those garden-fresh tomatoes from the summer harvest! The noodles are tossed in a homemade Italian dressing with briny capers and fresh herbs. Dinner is on the table in the time it takes to boil water and cook the noodles!

Produce On Parade - Italian Summer Tomato Pasta - This is a quick and easy pasta that’s a great way to utilize those garden-fresh tomatoes from the summer harvest! The noodles are tossed in a homemade Italian dressing with briny capers and fresh her…

Hey there! Did you miss me?? I've had a wildly busy couple weeks which does not bode well for my person...this girl needs a perplexing amount of downtime. But it's all good, really good! I just turned in my cookbook's manuscript (preorder here!) into my publisher on Friday and it feels unbelievable. Seriously, there are no words. On another note, our house building is coming along fantastic. They are insulating today, the plumbing is currently being put in, and the shingles went up last weekend. Crazy stuff!

Todd and I were joking that I'm not going to know what to do with myself once the book is out of my hands (November) and the house is done (by Thanksgiving, fingers and toes crossed)! Oh the books I will read come November. A holiday of reading and relaxing, Darwin willing.

“A vibrant inner life is far more powerful than a busy outer one.”

— David Romanelli

Even more good news...I have a new recipe for you! And of course, you'll be seeing more of me around these parts. Sorry for being a bit absent. Sometimes I feel like one of those Stretch Armstrong dolls. It's a most unusual feeling for someone whose life goal is to avoid the overwhelming burden of overstimulation. I simply can't wait to be bored again. To walk through the woods with Bob on our morning jaunt and not have eight things playing bumper-cars in my mind. To just day-dream, without the interruption of yet another item crashing through to heavily belly-flop on my "to-do" list. How rude. I know I need to go to the store for large Ziploc bags so I can put our natural gas application in one and nail it to the right side of the garage, but does it really have to interrupt my wishful thoughts on when I'd be able to watch the latest episode of Poldark. Oh, Poldark...I hope he has to cut the grass again...

Does it ever really stop though? One can hope at the very least.

Now onto this pasta. My sweet sister-in-law stay with Todd and I for ten weeks while she's doing clinicals up here in Alaska to become a physical therapist. She buys tomatoes for her sandwiches and I seem to keep nicking them to make dinner. I hardly ever buy tomatoes because they always go bad before I use them! She's been up here for two weeks and I think I've "liberated" at least eleven of them. Shameful, I don't know what's wrong with me. Thank you, Anna, for generously donating your tomatoes to the cause, hehehe. I promise to pick up some at the farmer's market tomorrow!

Italian Summer Tomato Pasta

Recipe by Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Yield: 6

Ingredients

16 oz spaghetti, dry
6 medium roma tomatoes, diced
¼ medium yellow onion, diced small
2 tbsp capers
¼ cup large-flake nutritional yeast
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried, chopped
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
(about ½ cup) - Dressing -
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp water
½ tbsp vegan granulated sugar
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder

Cooking Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Cook according to the package for al dente noodles, about 10 minutes; drain and return to pot.
While the water is coming to a boil, add all the pasta ingredients (except for the pasta) to a medium mixing bowl.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside.
Once the noodles are done, stir the pasta ingredients into the noodles and stir well. Add in the dressing and use tongs to toss the noodles and coat them evenly.
Serve hot.

Today's Info

Still eating pork? Even if you don't care about animals, I hope you care about humans. And if you don't care about humans, well, I hope you at least care about eating peoples fingers and their fecal matter. *shudder* Read all about it here. Horrifying stuff.

Italian Potato Salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Salad:

3 lbs. baby red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered or halved

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

6 celery stalks, sliced

3 Tbsp. capers, drained

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

16 pitted Kalamata olives, halved

1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chiffonade

Dressing:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large lemon, juiced

1 tsp. dried Italian herb seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions:

Start by bringing a very large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile wash and scrub the potatoes of any dirt. If the potatoes are on the larger side, cut or quarter them. Once the water reaches a rapid boil, add the potatoes. Boil for about 20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Strain and set aside.

While the potatoes boil, prep the remaining salad ingredients. Add them all to a very large serving bowl and combine.

To make the dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in small bowl or measuring cup and whisk well.

Add the boiled potatoes to the large serving bowl and combine with the tomato/celery/olive mixture. Pour the dressing over it all and mix again, until well coated.

Serve warm or cold!

Today's Info

Italian Potato Salad

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