Meatless Mondays: Summer Fun

And we're back to Monday...  How did that happen?  I hope all my readers have been enjoying the holiday weekend.  For me, it's just one more reminder that summer is nearly here.  (Yippee!)  I plan to savor this summer.  Partly to distract me from the heat that could be the bane of my existence.  And partly because this summer will likely be a very special summer.  

I'm between jobs right now, so I will be planning lots of activities and quality time with my big munchkin.  Baby munchkin is due to arrive in early August, so that will be huge.  In between I'm hoping to fit in a trip or two, lots of dinners on our back patio, many afternoons spent poolside, and maybe even a day or two at the beach.

To get it all started, I recently discovered what may become this year's favorite summer pasta.  It's another tortellini dish that can be served warm, room temperature, or cold as a pasta salad.  I took it to a cookout as a side dish yesterday, and I heard a few "yums" amid all the noshing.  Always a good sign!   

Notice that the ingredient list is decidedly low-fat, making this sauce yet another example of a sneakily-lowcal cream sauce.  Just remember to watch how long this dish sits out on the back patio, as it can spoil as quickly as any salad dressed with a cream-, buttermilk-, or mayo-based sauce.

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Tortellini with Yogurt Chive Sauce

Serves 4-6

• 1 pound fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
• 8 oz. frozen peas
• 2/3 plain lowfat yogurt
• 1/2 cup Parmesan (either grated or shredded), divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped chives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for the pasta water and to taste
• 1/4 freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tomato, diced

Cook the tortellini in a pot of well-salted boiling water according to the package directions.  Add the peas to the boiling water during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time.  (Note that fresh tortellini may only need 3-4 minutes to boil, in which case you can add the tortellini and peas together from the start.)  Reserve 1/2 of the pasta cooking water before draining.

In the meantime, mix the yogurt, 1/4 cup Parmesan, Garlic, chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Place the cooked pasta and peas in a large bowl.  Add the diced tomato and sauce.  Mix well.  Use some of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce, if needed.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Serve warm, room-temperature, or chilled as a pasta salad.

Meatless Mondays: It's Time

You'll have to excuse my sparse posting recently. Instead of talking about food (and life!) I've been enjoying it. So now it's time to start catching up. In fact, I'm blogging with today's Meatless Mondays post just in the nick of time. In most parts of the U.S. it's not even Monday anymore. But who's counting anyway!

In recent weeks I have finally realized that summer is almost over. School has started for all the children here in Davis, and we've even seen a few cooler nights. Clearly it's time to prepare for Fall, but I'm not quite ready. I have yet to really enjoy the best of summer produce ~ the garden-fresh tomatoes, the locally grown sweet corn, the eggplants and bell peppers. I'm hoping to make time for all of these summer treats...and fast.

For today's Meatless Mondays post I'd like to share this luscious tomato salad. It's perfect for this time of year because it features tomatoes straight from the farmstand.


It requires zero cooking.


And, it is light enough for even the hottest of days.


I hope you enjoy it as much as we did ~ even my daughter dove headfirst into this, herbs and all!

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Marinated Tomato Salad

• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pints of the freshest mini tomatoes you can find (using a mixture of heirloom cherry tomatoes might make for the prettiest result)
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/8 tsp. each of sea salt and freshly ground pepper (or more to taste)
  

Whisk together the vinegar and oil in the serving dish. Add the tomatoes to the dish, top with the herbs, salt, and pepper, and then toss well to coat the tomatoes. Adjust the seasonings if necessary, then chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving.