"pasta-bilities" {january 17, 2023}

New Year's Eve was supposed to be a noisy celebration. Friends were coming over to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Georgia Bulldogs. One of the couples was bringing a sandwich tray from their daughter's newly opened sub shop, the other was bringing her world famous meatballs and another nibble, I was making a pasta salad and roasted veggies.

Well, the night fell apart and didn't happen. Two of the three couples were sick and Ohio State didn't win.

But with the other couple and T and me, we had a charcuterie tray, pasta salad, and roasted veggies.

I looked at lots of recipes and looked in my pantry and fridge, realizing that there were lots of remnants that needed to be used. I could make one of my "junk salads" with minimal grocery shopping. The dressing would be the new recipe. The Italian herb blend is a staple in my spice cabinet and while shopping I found an herb blend that I hadn't used before, herbes de Provence. The ingredient list is tasty: thyme, basil, fennel, savory, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, and lavender. That touch of lavender added a distinctly French taste. And now I have a full jar of herbes de Provence that will lead me to explore new recipes for its use!

Dressing

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (or dried Italian seasoning)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¾ teaspoon sea salt

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, and salt. (Note: the dressing will have a strong flavor, it’ll mellow once it coats all of the pasta salad ingredients).