Hip Hip Hooray For CSA!

My favorite season is finally here! I love the long warm days of summer but I also love the abundance of fresh summer veggies just as much! Our CSA has begun and it's been fabulous. If you don't know what a CSA is check out this post. http://homemadejess.blogspot.com/2011/10/community-supported-agriculture-are-you.html

This is my third year participating in a CSA. I feel like each year I have a better sense of how to make the most of all the veggies. I have been trying a lot of new recipes lately and thought I could highlight one or more of the veggies from our share in a new recipe each week. We have also been counting our calories so a lot of these recipes are low-cal. Don't let that term fool you! These recipes have been delicious and more than satisfying! So please check in every week for a new recipe. Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as we are!

The first couple weeks of our CSA are made up of a lot of greens. So the first veggie I'm going to highlight is spinach. My husband LOVES spinach any way he can get it. I like it as well but I enjoy it more when it is accompanied by something rather than just steamed. I found this recipe from Whole Foods and gave it a shot. This is by far the best pasta salad I have ever had! My whole family loved it!

Pasta Salad With Grilled Summer Vegetables and Fresh Mozzarella


Ingredients:

• 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 yellow squash or zucchini, cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 red bell peppers, cored seeded and quartered 
• 12 oz fusilli pasta, cooked, drained and cooled
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size chunks
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp chopped basil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush squash and peppers with olive oil and grill, flipping once, until just charred in parts and tender.
2. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool. Cut into bite size pieces
3. In a large bowl, toss grilled veggies with pasta, spinach, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, vinaigrette, salt and pepper.

This makes 6 servings and is only 300 calories per serving!! Can't beat that! The best part is that you can substitute any of the veggies for whatever you have in the fridge. I bet this would be really good with grilled eggplant. This pasta salad is great for dinner or to bring to a cookout this summer. I guarantee everyone will love it. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1920