Hello everyone, and happy Monday! I’m on vacation right now, and am enjoying every second of it. 🙂 The good news is, though, that LLL won’t be silent! I have a number of amazing posts by some amazing bloggers lined up, and I am so excited to share them with you all.

First up is Sarah. I love reading Sarah’s blog because of her attitude, the pictures of the amazing, delicious (gluten-free) food she often has on there, and her sense of humor. Each post is definitely worth reading, so I hope you all enjoy this one! Thanks again, Sarah!

—————————

Hey guys! My name is Sarah Pie and I blog over  at Slices of Sarah Pie (creative right?).

It’s my little slice of the internet where I share my adventures in healthy gluten free eating (I’m a celiac) along with attempt to balance the workouts, work, and fun in my life as I make my way through graduate school.

Liv was lovely enough to lend me her page for the day while she is off on vacation (thanks!) and I decided it would be a perfect time to share my favorite summer meal. I love pasta salad for the summer because it is light, quick, and fresh giving you a chance to take advantage of whatever veggies look the best that week.

I wanted to make a vegan batch so that it could survive bouncing back and forth in a cooler for 2 days while I was at a concert a few weeks ago (that’s me and the BF at the concert above). But if I was going to make it, it had to be both BF and little brother approved (the two pickiest, anti “health” food, men in my life).

This is the result.

(packed and ready to travel.)

Cucumber and tomato, mixed around perfectly al-dente (GF!) pasta, coated with a “cheesy” garlicky dressing. I swear it’s a little bite of heaven!

Summer Veggie Pasta Salad

Serves 4 (dinner sized portions)

Time 20 minutes (plus chill time in the fridge)
1 and 1/2 cucumbers, peeled and cubed

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cups pasta of your choice (I like the GF pasta from ancient harvest), cooked and strained

Dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

3 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

parsley, chopped for garnish (optional)
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash, peel, and dice cucumber. Wash and halve tomatoes. Place veggies in a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, and set on a sunny counter (this will help the flavors start to combine). When the water is ready add your pasta and cook according to package directions, you would rather go slightly underdone rather than overdone (especially if you are making this in advance!).

Mix together all dressing ingredients. Combine hot pasta with veggies and dressing and toss to combine. Mixing everything while warm helps the dressing soak in, so this is ready to eat now. For the best taste pop it in the fridge to chill for a couple hours or overnight. Either way it’s delicious (even my brother says so!)

—————–

Holy yum! How amazing does that look? This dish would be perfect for a Meat Free Monday meal, but I would definitely add it into my eats any day of the week. Thanks for sharing this with us, Sarah!

Have a great day, everyone!