BEDA 9 - Tomato Basil Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

So, I decided to take the weekend off. I'm thinking I'm just going to blog every WEEKday in April, and to attempt to keep my sanity, and pretend that I actually have a life.

So, this weekend was full of yummy food things. As I said Friday, I made some yummy lemon bars. We also had a tasty little lunch of tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwiches, and some apple gorgonzola salad (pictured below).


In order to make said sandwiches, I needed some basil. Of course, when I went to my local grocery store, they only had very large containers of basil.



So now I have this shit ton of basil to get rid of. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE basil, but there are only so many interesting ideas that I can come up with about how to use it all (though at this point I'll probably end up drying most of it to use later). However, last night I decided to make up something to use said insane amount of basil, and this is what I came up with :


I was making it up as I went along, and I don't measure anything, but here is my best guestimation as to a recipe.

Tomato Basil Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 to 3 cups elbow macaroni (or desired pasta)
1 large tomato
3 to 5 large basil leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I like mine extra vinegar-y)
salt and pepper (to taste)

Fill a medium pot with water, and bring to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until the pasta is soft. Strain, and run under cold water. Dice tomatoes, and chop basil to desired size. In a separate bowl, combine oil and vinegar, then salt and pepper, to taste. Combine pasta, tomatoes, basil, and vinaigrette, and toss until all is evenly coated. Then, ya know, eat it.


Until tomorrow, Allons-y!