The Best Pasta Salad

As I mentioned in my last post, the weather here lately in New York has been resembling the West Coast, which is something we just weren't prepared for. It went from a steady 60•, to a scorching 92•!  Usually in preparation for that sort of weather you dig out your summer clothes, set up your air conditioners and prepare for a few meals you don't need the oven for, or at least that's what I do. But because of the sudden appearance of Mr. Sunshine, I was caught off guard and decided just not to cook at all for a bit. I finally decided that I could handle one day of turning on my oven and stove for an hour tops to make a pasta salad. The stove would only need to be on long enough to boil the pasta. 

I had recently made a trip to my favorite supermarket, Trader Joe's, and came across this new rainbow pasta! Well, anyone who knows me, knows that two major things about me are that A) I am a fan of all things rainbow and B) since marrying into an Italian family, who considers pasta to be a major food group, I have been looking for more fun & inventive ways to eat it, because a person can only eat spaghetti & meatballs so many times. This new pasta was called Trofie Colore and resembled a thinner, stretched out Rotini.

As I was putting this salad together, I realized that it was very similar to a Greek pasta salad, minus the red onions. I had never tried a pasta salad where the main dressing was vinegar before ... usually its coupled with mayonnaise. At first I thought there was too much vinegar, but after it had time to sit, it was actually quite perfect. I had made this dish with the intention of it being dinner for my wife during those few late work nights I have during the week, but because I was such a huge fan, it would up being my late night snack instead!

I added feta cheese and left out the chives