Summer meals are best enjoyed on the patio with friends and family…and salads make the best summer meals.
Pasta salads are always well appreciated in our household since our son absolutely loves pasta. He will have it at every meal, including breakfast, if he can have his way. I am happy to indulge him, so my way to compromise is to add plenty of vegetables with the pasta. So far, he will eat almost everything you give him as long you feed him, but you gotta let him pick the pasta himself. Letting him just feed himself will defy the purpose of the pasta salad as he will just eat the pasta and leave the rest untouched.

The choices of vegetables to add is based on what is on sale and in season, in addition to my “go-to” frozen veggie mix. It is a big bag of frozen mix I get from our local grocery store that has green beans, cubed carrots, peas, lima beans and corn. It never fails me and I practically add that sh*&^% in every dish.
Anyway, no matter what veggies you add for this dish though, cooked veggies will go better with the creamy pesto. I always cook the veggies quite soft as our son will not eat anything too crunchy but  a crunchier version can be made for less picky eaters.

Finally, the pesto! This has been one of my best find of this summer. I started to grow some things on our deck and I have two pots of basil and they grow so well we had to find ways to use the basil leaves, hence the pesto! The creamy pesto in this recipe is a lighter, tangier version of pesto and it totally rocks this pasta salad!

Pasta salad with creamy pesto

• asparagus – 1 cup cooked and cut 1 inch long
• spinach- 1/2 or 1 bunch depending how big
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 cup of mixed frozen veggies : peas, carrots, green beans, lima beans, corn or  about 1/4 cup of each
• 1/2 lb of pasta of your choice
• salt

For the pesto (this makes a lot, feel free to cut  the amounts in half, but it also stores very well in the fridge)
– 1 avocado
– 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
– 1/4 cup of water
– Juice of 1 lemon (or 3tbsp)
– 2 cups of basil leaves
– 6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Cut the zucchini in thin slices (1/4 inch thick). Saute the zucchini slices in a pan with a little bit of oil until it browns on the edges and it is soft. Add the spinach to the pan and saute with the zucchini until it is wilted. Transfer the zucchini and spinach to a large bowl.
Steam, boil  or saute the other vegetables to desired softness or crunchiness. Add in the bowl containing the zucchini and spinach, mix up with a spoon or hand mix. Sprinkle with a bit of salt to taste.

To make the pesto, mix all the ingredients but the salt in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and salt to taste.

Serve the salad and add a dollup of pesto on top. Taa-dahh!!Enjoy!!