Owl City makes Emily happy sometimes.
Even though Emily has been sick.
And Emily doesn't like being sick because when she is sick she can't taste anything.
BUT.
She's getting better and she did eat her nummy 20-minute Fridge Extravaganza Pasta Salad tonight! Yay for feeling a little better!!
(Alright getting out of 3rd person, but in my head I'm still speaking in a British accent... BOY I love my roommate XD)
AAAANYWAY-
So a friend of mine invited me over for a potluck this past weekend and I realized that my bank account is basically.... empty.. til Tuesday when I was to get paid so I was in a panic...
'What am I supposed to make to contribute????'
Okay, I wasn't panicking that much but I just couldn't think of anything...
Then it hit me.
PASTA SALAD. HAH! It's SO EASY and I basically have everything for it...
I ran to my tiny dorm fridge and pulled out the jar of mayo, mustard, Mom's homemade pickles, some celery I had picked up off hand, and the jar of malt vinegar that my Mom threw at me saying I needed. I had SO MUCH uncooked pasta, I mean it's kinda silly how much I really have. I also found a can on black olives that I snagged from my house when I was on break last, and also salt and pepper of course.
I gathered up mah cookin stuffs and headed downstairs. I looked at the clock and realized that my friend would be picking me up in like 20 minutes and then got to work.
Borrowed an RAs sauce pan since mine wasn't gonna be big enough to cook enough pasta for everyone and along with my own pan started the water boiling for the 1 and 3/4 boxes of spiral pastas.
Chopped up (or rather minced into tiny bits) about 3/4 cup of black olives, about a cup of Mom's refrigerator pickles and the 4 stalks of celery. You really can put in whatever the hell you want considering some people may not like Any of the stuff I put in there a sec ago... Hell, most people don't like olives or pickles but I didn't care because I LOVE them. But this sort of thing isn't rocket science, but I like the crunch of the celery and the tart pickles, and olives are just sort of a tradition in my family so don't hate.
But so in that mixture (in a giant bowl of course, which I just covered with tin foil when I was done and headed out), I added about a cup and a half of mayo and about 3-4 tablespoons of just plain mustard and then about 5 tablespoons of that malt vinegar. I really don't think it matters what sort of vinegar you use, it's just a nice change from the typically-very-mayonaise-y pasta salads I've had to endure in my lifetime. Just stay away from 'Apple-cider vinegar' because that's Not the right taste. But go ahead and play with it because it gives your salad personality. YOU can give your silly-lil salad personality.
By this point, my water was at a rolling boil (*HANDY TIP FYI!) and then just follow the instructions on the box. Usually you let the pasta cook for about 10 minutes and then strain it. For this recipe I Always rinse my pasta when it's done cooking, with cold cold cold water. Basically to halt the cooking process and also not to heat up the mayo and the other stuff (pasta salad is just not as good when it's warm... Duh)
But so once the pasta's done, rinse and shake and repeat, and then fold it into the mayo/vinegar/concoction and mix mix mix. It's good if you refrigerate it too, because its way better cold.
And BAM. Delicious pasta salad in basically like 20 minutes.
Then I was out the door because my friend pulled up.
Like I said, this recipe is SO easy you can use ANYTHING. The only thing I basically recommend is the vinegar and mayo/mustard ratio. Otherwise you can put in ANYTHING. My mom calls it "Refrigeration Clean-out Pasta Extravaganza" because in the mix of things she'd throw in there'd be things like Texas Pete, hardboiled eggs, celery (which is a must), onions, green onions, garlic, green martini olives with the little red things too, capers, relish (if you don't have pickles its actually handier), leftover corn, jalapenos, kidney beans, garbanzo beans etc....
I mean really. It's one of those magical recipes you don't have to Ever have a recipe for.
Just go make it up and watch people be dazzled by your deliciousness.
But I just finished the leftovers I had of it since the bowl I had made of it for the potluck could've fed around 20 people, I had taken some home and given some to Allison... It's so delicious.
Go have at it! I have faith in your delicious cooking abilities!
*HANDY TIP!* I found a magical thing, online of course, that blew my mind for a second..
When boiling water, place a wooden spoon radially across the top of your pot and it won't boil over if you aren't paying attention! See because my attention span is like that of a squirrel so I find this ultimately comforting :)
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