Abstract:

At our house, you can't get thru a summer with garden-grown tomatoes and cucumbers without making my Wife's favorite spaghetti salad. I know this side is ubiquitous at potlucks, and I think that's why people tend to overlook it in the chow line. A little attention to detail can bring balance back to what is often an over-seasoned, gummy mess. With that in mind, I've tinkered with this picnic favorite a bit by fixing methods, adjusting the seasoning and upping the nutritional ante by using whole wheat pasta. The recipe's still simple; so now there's no excuse for anyone to not put a little love into their social table fare.

Purpose:

Hey, be sure to scope the how-to video companion episode to this post!

I get downright giddy when I find out that people have actually cooked and even like(!) what I'm throwing down here each week. And while I'm glad that folks find what I publish useful, It wouldn't amount to a hill of beans if it some of it wasn't of worth to the more important people in my life. My wife doesn't cook without a recipe, and when she craves one of her favorites and I'm not around to fix it, I feel a bit guilty when she doesn't know where to look.



Case in point: A spaghetti salad (hell, it's probably that spaghetti salad) that is often found at so many picnics and potlucks is her go-to side when she needs a dish for a social. It's a recipe you can find anywhere, but anywhere's version isn't always that great. My wife knows this, and it's probably not fair to her that I should squander in my head what makes this pasta salad to her liking. It's with that in mind that I'm posting this recipe for posterity so my Significant Other will always know where to go when she wants to make her favorite spaghetti salad. What's more, given that this is the time of year when tomatoes and cucumbers are flourishing in people's gardens, I figured that this is the perfect opportunity to document this simple and seasonal summer side.