Two more for your perusal: GREEK PASTA SALAD 1 lb. medium-size shell or other short pasta (4 cups) Salt 2/3 cup olive oil 2 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice (1 lemon) 2 small cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press 1 tsp. dried oregano Freshly ground black pepper 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half 1-1/2 cups chopped cucumber (2 medium-size or 1 large cucumber) 1 cup chopped red onion (1 medium-size onion) 1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or parsley Pickled banana or cherry peppers or steamed shrimp (optional), for garnish Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the pasta and 1 tsp. of salt, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook the pasta, uncovered, according to the package directions until just done, 8 to 9 minutes. Meanwhile, place the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Set the salad dressing aside. Drain the pasta well in a colander, shaking it to remove the excess water. Transfer the pasta to the large mixing bowl with the dressing. Stir to coat and let the pasta come to room temperature, about 20 minutes. When the pasta is cool, fold in the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, olives, and mint or parsley. Stir to combine well. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or black pepper if needed. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and serve at once garnished with the banana peppers or shrimp, if desired, or cover and refrigerate the salad until serving time. Serves 8. Big Batch: This salad is easy to double or triple, but cook the pasta a pound at a time, and mix the salad one batch at a time. Tote Notes: Tote this salad right in its serving bowl and bring the optional garnish of peppers or shrimp in a separate container, if you like. Cover the serving bowl with plastic wrap that sticks securely to the rim of the bowl to make traveling less messy. If possible, let the salad come to room temperature before serving. Then stir the salad again and top it with the garnish, if using. From What Can I Bring by Anne Byrn. SANTA FE PASTA SALAD This salad is simply fabulous! The flavor blend is right on. Add some diced, cooked chicken to make a delicious meal-in-one salad, or serve as is on the side. 1 pkg. (16 oz.) rotini pasta 1-1/4 cups tomato juice 1-1/2 Tblsp. olive oil 1 Tblsp. red wine vinegar 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. paprika 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels 1/4 cup chopped scallions 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 2 Tblsp. diced green bell pepper 2 Tblsp. diced Roma tomato Boil pasta according to pkg. directions. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Stir together tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, chili powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Toss with pasta in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Combine Parmesan cheese, corn, scallions, cilantro, green pepper and tomato. Combine with chilled pasta; cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Season with cracked black pepper before serving if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

The nice thing about all theses recipes is that they can be combined by using what you have on hand...and what you like. I'm making one this morning for the weekend. I always have olives, pulled some pecans out of the freezer from the holidays that i will toast and lightly chop. Roast a red pepper on the gas burner. My basil bed is doing well but not enough for a pesto so i'll pinch off a dozen tops but the cilantro is bolting so i'll add that at the end with a squeeze of lime. Tomatoes are a month away but i have a dozen early sungolds (the size of marbles)...I'll cut in half and toss on top fresh. i have a bit of fetta left i need to use. A dozen sugar snap peas sliced in half. Not enough for a side dish. I made succotash wed and have an ear of corn left and half a zucchini and squash i'll use up. (my local Stop-n-Shop grocery has a local farm stand set up inside) A wooden cart with an umbrella, haha. I usually prefer simplicity and just a few ingredients but this time of year i have a little bit of everything...reminds me of my MIL's saturday soup my husband grew up on...all the bits of the weeks meals tossed in a soup pot with homemade stock from the freezer, maybe some rice or pasta. Not really left-overs using fresh, but certainly a 'garden party' pasta. Still a light sauce. I'm going to make a full lb so it will be a side dish tonight with cod cakes, a cold salad for tomorrows lunch, (DH will have some for breakfast, lol). Sunday night's return from the mountains i'll put the leftovers in a casarole, top with extra cheese, 'yogurt milk', panko and any grill leftovers, (lamb sausage!) and make an adult mac-n-cheese. (i have some rich stinky fancy munster i need to use up). A completely different meal when baked and toasted. sallyparis-love your blog. My husband caught me grating a few tomatoes last season, "now what are you doing!?", haha. Works great in a hurry but needs a big bowl. Love warm pasta tossed in all that yummy juice when tomatoes are so sweet and abundant. tricia-haha, the harried greek housewife. Now i know what to call it! Gwlolo- No need to 'cook' the sauce, but a few ingredients do 'brighten' flavors with a few minutes in a large wide saucepan, just a few minutes as the pasta is finishing. Add the warm pasta to the saucepan and toss. A caprese is nice just on top fresh when serving along with toasted nuts if using. If you have an abundance of fresh basil, some is nice tossed in the warm pasta but save most for the top garnish. Arugula is delightful as well.

The wraps are from Wizardnm and she posted these a while ago and they're very good! Cream cheese filling for wraps 8 oz pkg. cream cheese 2 green onions (white part and about 1 inch of the green part) 2 tbsp. dry ranch dressing mix 2 to 3 tbsp white wine (optional) Combine all in a food processor and process until smooth. Spread a couple tbsp of mixture on each tortilla. Fill using leaf lettuce, sliced deli meat of choice. A great cocktail pinwheel can also be made using the above mixture and the following. Olive and Green Chili Blend ¾ C chopped green olives ¾ C chopped black olives 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chili's Combine the olives and green chili's. Spread a tortilla with the cream cheese mixture then spread with olive mixture. Roll up tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hrs or longer. Unwrap and slice into pinwheels about 1 inch thick. During the holidays I like to combine cream cheese with a bit of cranberry relish, spread on a tortilla and place deli thin sliced smoked turkey on it. Roll up and refrigerate as above. Yummy! Nancy Here is a family favorite pasta salad. ORZO WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES 1 small eggplant, peeled, 3/4" dice 1 red pepper, 1" dice 1 yellow pepper, 1" dice 1 red onion, peeled, 1" dice 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 lb Orzo, cooked 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 scallions, minced 1/4 cup toasted Pignoli nuts 3/4 lb Feta cheese, 1/2" dice 15 basil leaves, chiffonade Mix first 7 ingredients together and place in one layer in large roasting pan. Roast @ 425 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once. Mix warm orzo with warm cooked vegetables and all of their juices. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss together and let cool to room temperature. Add scallions, nuts, Feta and basil and serve. Serves 6

NEW ORLEANS EGGPLANT (serves 4) 2 medium eggplants 1 large onion 1/2 green bell pepper 1/2 bunch green onions 2 cloves garlic 2 TBL bacon drippings or vegetable oil 2 TBL minced parsley 3-4 slices bread, soaked in water 1 lb shrimp, boiled, peeled & chopped 1 small piece of ham, ground 1 or 2 eggs Salt & peper to taste Fine dry bread crumbs 2 TBL butter Boil eggplants in a large pot of water until fork tender. Cool. Chop the onion, pepper & green onions fine; saute in the bacon drippings w/garlic for 5 minutes until wilted. Slice the eggplants in 1/2 lengthwise. Scoop out the eggplant pulp carefully so as not to damage the skin. Add the pulp to the onion mixture & simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley & simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Squeeze the bread dry & mix in well. Add the chopped shrimp & ground ham. Blend in 1 or 2 eggs to bind; season w/salt & pepper to taste. Stir in a few bread crumbs if needed. Stuff the shells, sprinkle w/bread crumbs & dot w/butter. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 15 minutes.~~Cotton Country Collection ITALIAN BAKED EGGPLANT (serves 2) 1 large eggplant 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced 1/4 cup olive oil 1 large white onion, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, peeled, finely chopped 15 oz can stewed tomatoes 1 TBL sugar 1 tsp finely chopped fresh basil Salt & pepper to taste 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cut the eggplant lengthwise in 1/2. Scoop out the pulp carefully. leaving the shells intact. Chop the pulp into 1/2" pieces. Preheat oven to 375°. Saute the garlic in the olive oil in a 12" skillet for 2 minutes. Add the eggplant pulp, onion & celery. Reduce the heat to medium; saute, stirring frequently for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the undrained tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently until thickened & most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the sugar, basil, salt & pepper; mix well. Spoon the mixture into the eggplant shells; sprinkle w/the cheese. Arrange the stuffed shells in a shallow baking dish; pour in enough hot water to reach a depth of 1/2" around the shells. Bake 20-30 minutes or until light brown.~~Great Lake Effects. SPICY EGGPLANT (serves 4) 28 oz can whole tomatoes, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup dry red wine 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 medium eggplant, peeled & cubed 2 TBL red wine vinegar 2 TBL chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried basil 6 drops hot sauce 1/4 tsp salt Hot cooked rice or pasta Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid. Cook garlic, onion & red wine, covered in a skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add celery & eggplant; cook 15 minutes or until eggplant is tender, adding juice from tomatoes if necessary. Stir in tomatoes, remaining juice, vinegar & next 3 ingredients. Simmer at least 30 minutes. Serve over hot rice or pasta.~~Thymes & Pleasures