Whole Wheat Pasta Salad Recipe & Instructions
1 (12 ounce) box whole wheat rotini pasta
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, or to taste
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 bunch green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, or to taste
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 bunch green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
- Bring a large pot with lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook rotini at a boil until the pasta is cooked yet slightly firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
- Rinse the pasta with cold water until completely chilled; drain completely.
- While the pasta cooks, whisk the apple cider vinegar and olive oil together in a large bowl until blended. Stir feta cheese, basil, salt, and black pepper into the vinaigrette.
- Fold the asparagus, tomatoes, carrots, green onions, and garlic into the vinaigrette to coat evenly.
- Stir the cooled pasta into the vegetable mixture; toss until evenly mixed.
My Experience
So, I found this recipe for whole wheat pasta salad online and thought it looked pretty good. I'm not much of a cook (actually, I'm a horrible cook) but the instructions seemed pretty simple and I thought I'd give it a shot. I did alter the recipe A LOT, however. I'm not a big fan of asparagus, so I replaced that with green beans. I also made the apple cider vinegar and olive oil mix, but it had an extremely strong taste, so I ended up using a basil pesto and water mix that tasted a lot better.
Making the recipe was easy enough. I bought all the ingredients at Whole Foods and cooked it right upon returning home. I cannot emphasize enough what a bad cook I am--the recipe calls for four cloves of garlic and I accidentally bought four BULBS, not realizing that cloves are inside the bulbs--but I was able to make the whole thing myself without much difficulty. My whole family ate the pasta salad (with garlic bread on the side) for dinner and loved it! They're already talking about making it again in the future. I highly recommend it, even to those who claim not to like pasta salad (my dad hates it and he loved this recipe).
One thought I had about our readings while I was buying the ingredients for this was food deserts and being food insecure in general. I had to drive a couple towns over from my hometown to get to the nearest Whole Foods, and if I always had to drive that far to grocery shop, it would really impact my life. I only bought ingredients relevant to this recipe, too; it would've been an even longer process if I was trying to buy a full shopping list for my family. To add to this, all the food for this recipe came out to around twenty dollars, which was cheap in my eyes. But the dish wasn't really filling enough to justify that amount of money on JUST the pasta salad ingredients on a regular basis, especially for someone counting every penny as they shop. It was exciting for me to take a whole afternoon to go shopping, search through and purchase all organic and healthy ingredients, and cook dinner for my family. But that sort of experience is not a luxury most food-insecure families have the privilege to enjoy.
This dish was super tasty and I am so thankful to Professor Veit and this class for giving me the excuse to enjoy a really good pasta salad--with the satisfaction of knowing it was healthy and cooked by myself!
Making the recipe was easy enough. I bought all the ingredients at Whole Foods and cooked it right upon returning home. I cannot emphasize enough what a bad cook I am--the recipe calls for four cloves of garlic and I accidentally bought four BULBS, not realizing that cloves are inside the bulbs--but I was able to make the whole thing myself without much difficulty. My whole family ate the pasta salad (with garlic bread on the side) for dinner and loved it! They're already talking about making it again in the future. I highly recommend it, even to those who claim not to like pasta salad (my dad hates it and he loved this recipe).
One thought I had about our readings while I was buying the ingredients for this was food deserts and being food insecure in general. I had to drive a couple towns over from my hometown to get to the nearest Whole Foods, and if I always had to drive that far to grocery shop, it would really impact my life. I only bought ingredients relevant to this recipe, too; it would've been an even longer process if I was trying to buy a full shopping list for my family. To add to this, all the food for this recipe came out to around twenty dollars, which was cheap in my eyes. But the dish wasn't really filling enough to justify that amount of money on JUST the pasta salad ingredients on a regular basis, especially for someone counting every penny as they shop. It was exciting for me to take a whole afternoon to go shopping, search through and purchase all organic and healthy ingredients, and cook dinner for my family. But that sort of experience is not a luxury most food-insecure families have the privilege to enjoy.
This dish was super tasty and I am so thankful to Professor Veit and this class for giving me the excuse to enjoy a really good pasta salad--with the satisfaction of knowing it was healthy and cooked by myself!
Cooking Isaac's Fried Rice With Vegetables
When I set out to cook another recipe, I couldn't help but feel that it was nice to borrow someone else's dish instead of trying to find my own again. I stuck to the listed recipe (link here) for the most part, but I used brown rice because it’s healthier and tastes a little better (in my opinion, anyways). I also felt like there weren’t enough vegetables, so I added water chestnuts. They were a great addition! In the future, I would probably add even more vegetables, like broccoli and peapods.
Cooking the dish itself was super easy. I’m constantly amazed since I took this class at how easy it can be cook delicious food. I’ve always considered myself to be an awful cook, but with a little guidance from my dad, this meal was no problem. It tasted amazing, too. The most exciting part is how easy it will be to reheat! I saved some leftovers and brought them to campus so that I can eat them for lunch or dinner this week. This will save me the hassle of trekking out to a dining hall while I’m busy working on final projects.
I think about this class almost every time I sit down to eat, and this meal was no different. I cooked this meal for my family and boyfriend, all of whom are big meat eaters. Since reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals I’ve almost completely cut meat out of my diet. I haven’t made a distinct choice to become a vegetarian, but I avoid meat whenever possible, which is actually a lot easier to do than I ever would have guessed. I’ve always loved meat and most of my favorite meals are loaded with meat—BLTs, spaghetti and meatballs, sausage and pepperoni pizza…the list goes on. But I’ve found it super easy to enjoy eating and avoid meat at the same time.
My family isn’t so enthusiastic about my change. Though accepting, they don’t make a huge effort to accommodate my new diet and I often find myself meeting them for dinner at Red Robin’s (where the only vegetarian meal is macaroni and cheese) or explaining why I don’t want a Sausage Egg McMuffin without the sausage (it’s disgusting). When I planned this dinner for them, I bought some chicken and cooked it separately so that they could mix it in with the veggies and rice. I was the only one who skipped the chicken and I was satisfied with the meal without it. My family was adamant that it wouldn’t have been as good without the chicken. One day (when we aren’t sitting at the table eating) I might share some of the horrifying conditions in the meat industry that we’ve read about and see if this changes their perspective at all. I don’t want to be too pushy, though!
All in all, the food was great and I know I will be making more of this in the future! And, of course, a special thank you to Isaac for posting the recipe!
Cooking the dish itself was super easy. I’m constantly amazed since I took this class at how easy it can be cook delicious food. I’ve always considered myself to be an awful cook, but with a little guidance from my dad, this meal was no problem. It tasted amazing, too. The most exciting part is how easy it will be to reheat! I saved some leftovers and brought them to campus so that I can eat them for lunch or dinner this week. This will save me the hassle of trekking out to a dining hall while I’m busy working on final projects.
I think about this class almost every time I sit down to eat, and this meal was no different. I cooked this meal for my family and boyfriend, all of whom are big meat eaters. Since reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals I’ve almost completely cut meat out of my diet. I haven’t made a distinct choice to become a vegetarian, but I avoid meat whenever possible, which is actually a lot easier to do than I ever would have guessed. I’ve always loved meat and most of my favorite meals are loaded with meat—BLTs, spaghetti and meatballs, sausage and pepperoni pizza…the list goes on. But I’ve found it super easy to enjoy eating and avoid meat at the same time.
My family isn’t so enthusiastic about my change. Though accepting, they don’t make a huge effort to accommodate my new diet and I often find myself meeting them for dinner at Red Robin’s (where the only vegetarian meal is macaroni and cheese) or explaining why I don’t want a Sausage Egg McMuffin without the sausage (it’s disgusting). When I planned this dinner for them, I bought some chicken and cooked it separately so that they could mix it in with the veggies and rice. I was the only one who skipped the chicken and I was satisfied with the meal without it. My family was adamant that it wouldn’t have been as good without the chicken. One day (when we aren’t sitting at the table eating) I might share some of the horrifying conditions in the meat industry that we’ve read about and see if this changes their perspective at all. I don’t want to be too pushy, though!
All in all, the food was great and I know I will be making more of this in the future! And, of course, a special thank you to Isaac for posting the recipe!