Thank God for Summer Salads

Now that the weather has turned brutally hot (well... brutal for Chicago), I've been craving a lot of cold (low-maintenance!) dishes that contain fruits and vegetables. I'm also a big believer in ingredient experimentation (add a little of this, a little of that) and voila! It's pretty safe with salads (no scientific food-chemistry), so feel free to add whatever vegetables you have in your fridge. Anyway, here's what I had for lunch today inspired by this Bon App etit recipe:

Ingredients
Salad:

1/2 cup cooked pasta (I used leftover elbows and rotini)

handful salad greens (I used spinach and romaine)

1/2 cup (maybe 6 or 7) cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

a few sprigs parsley, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

handful crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:

extra virgin olive oil

fresh lemon juice (one lemon)

rice wine vinegar

dijon mustard

minced garlic (one small clove)

salt

black pepper

Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl (taste as you go to get the desired proportions, I'd say the dominant ingredients should be the olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard), then pour over the salad and toss well. You could really add whatever vegetables you have on hand. I also think this is best if all the ingredients (except for the greens) are mixed, chilled to let the flavors blend, and then combined. But do what you like, don't be scared, go for it!

Makes 1-2 servings.