Basil Pesto Pasta Salad

I've been asked many times before if I have a pet peeve. Well, maybe it isn't a question that I am asked all the time - but I've had conversations about the topic before. My answer has always been "no". Nothing immediately comes to mind of things that really bug me. Sure, the Chicago traffic drives me slightly crazy at times, but it's more the traffic in general and nothing entirely specific. It also slightly bugs me when people respond to emails and don't "respond without attachment". Attachments suck up space in my inbox and I tend to need to dump files on a weekly basis. Folks - help me out here - "Reply without attachment".

Well, today I finally thought of a true pet peeve. And here it is: public bathrooms that don't have a hook for your purse on the back of the door. I don't know about all of you, but I hate setting my purse down on floors in general, because who knows what germs could be lingering about, but it is especially true when it comes to bathroom floors. When there isn't a hook in the bathroom, I find myself hanging my purse around my neck to keep it from touching the ground - which is incredibly uncomfortable. You may not know this, but I carry just about everything in my purse. Large water bottle, wallet, camera, phone, iPod, etc. Straining to keep my neck upright while lugging the purse around my neck is not all that attractive. So there is my first official pet peeve - bathrooms without hooks for purses.

Ok, so I thought of one more small thing. If you are familiar with the Loop area of Chicago - more specifically the River North neighborhood, you will know that there is a Portillo's restaurant right on Ontario/Clark. The drive-thru is always busy. The line extends onto the street on a regular basis - but it's ideal because you don't have to get out of your car. I'll say this - they are very good at moving you through that line quickly. When I go to Portillo's I order the same thing each time - Italian Beef and Cheese Fries. Twice in the past 6 months I have returned home without the cheese for my cheese fries. I only get Portillo's about once a month, so when I order the cheese fries - I truly am really looking forward to the cheese part of the cheese fries. Missing a food item from the drive-thru - only realizing it once you get all the way home - is also slightly frustrating.

Ok - there - it feels good to have those pet peeves off my chest.

This past weekend was Father's Day weekend. I took a trip home for a couple of days to spend time with Mom and Dad. Mom and I had a progressive dinner out on the patio - drinks and appetizers outside on the patio, salads on the screened in porch because of the rain, and dinner inside due to the blowing rain through the screens. The lights went off during dinner and made for quite a dining experience. This was all after I had slowly made my way out to the suburbs in the torrential storms. Trees were blowing, the sky was completely black, I saw a roof blow off a high rise building, and there was a dog running in the opposite direction of stopped traffic on the expressway. All in all - a very interesting Friday evening.

We had a small get together for Father's Day and Mom put me in charge of the menu. We grilled out hamburgers, chicken, and zesty Italian sausage. I can't take credit for the grilling. I did make a great fresh fruit salad and also threw together a basil pesto pasta salad. We recently had dinner on the rooftop at Dani and Suzy's, where they served pork shops and a pesto pasta salad - it was awesome - so I attempted to create my own version.

This is a great throw together salad that would be a great accompaniment at any party or barbecue. Because there is no mayonnaise in the dressing, it can sit out for quite awhile and can take up just about any veggies you throw in it.

Basil Pesto Pasta Salad

adapted from Dani and Suzy

print this recipe

1 box whole wheat rotini pasta

1/2 cup homemade or prepared pesto (I used homemade from last year's summer basil)

1-3 tablespoons of water to thin out the pesto

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 cup olives, pitted and chopped

Shake of garlic powder

Shake of onion powder

Shake of red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

Boil the pasta according to the directions on the package. Rinse and drain.

While the pasta is cooking, cut up the cherry tomatoes, peppers and olives. Add the veggies to a big bowl. Once the pasta is done cooking, add it to the bowl with the veggies. Add the pesto mixture. You may need to thin it out with more water so that it coats the pasta well. Feel free to add a splash of olive oil or vinegar if your pasta is still dry. Season the pasta salad with the onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Blueberry Muffins

The chocolate milk taste test reviewing process is still going on - not that you were wondering about it - but I do want to keep you in the loop about how it is going. You might be surprised to know that there are quite a few brands out there to try. I of course, have become set on a few favorites already and continue to buy the brands that I like, instead of branching out and trying the new ones - but that is par for the course with me. I hope to have an official review before the end of the summer. At the rate I've been blogging lately, I should be realistic and tell you the review will be available before Christmas. Do you know what makes for the perfect glass of chocolate milk at night? When you serve it in a tall glass that you pull right from the freezer. If you come to my apartment, don't be surprised to find empty glasses just lined up in the freezer, waiting to be filled.

I've still been eating - don't worry - even without the blogging. I actually hosted 2 dinner parties over the past 3 weeks and blogged nothing about them. I didn't even take pictures of the meal or the cooking process. I had enough hours in the day to actually cook the food, but no spare time to document the experience. Which, I know that leaves little proof to the fact that they actually happened, but you will just have to take my word for it. Or you could come and look in my refrigerator at all the leftover bottles of beer in my refrigerator or bottles of red wine on the counter and that might prove it too.

Dinner Party 1:

Chips and Guacamole

BBQ Pork w/homemade BBQ Sauce

Homemade baked beans

Cornbread

Coleslaw

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream

Dinner Party 2:

Chips and Guacamole

Homemade re fried black beans

Chipotle skirt steak tacos with caramelized onions

Homemade coconut ice cream

Since I was here last, this is what has been on the non-food schedule:

Took a fun road trip to St. Louis. Saw my first St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.

Rooted against the Cardinals of course. For those of you that don't know, I was actually once a Cardinals fan - and in love with Ozzie Smith at one time. Hard to believe based on the amount of Cubs gear I have in my closet these days.

I went up in the Arch. Again. I still didn't love it. I really love looking at the arch from the ground, but not up in the air. The pint sized tram cars still scare me.

Toured the brewery. I might be the only person that tours the brewery without taste testing the beer at the end of the trip.

Sadie got married. I was there.

Hosted and ACS Fun Run at Duffy's. They are getting more popular as the months go on. The next one is on June 15th if you are interested. We had 65 runners and oodles of DetermiNation volunteers out at the Soldier Field 10 race over Memorial Day weekend. Hosted 3 ACS Info Sessions. Attended the CARA Super Clinic, NBC 5 Health & Fitness Expo, and the Chicago Endurance Sports Kickoff. Whew.

I also seemed to have time to make some blueberry muffins over the weekend - which in my mind, if you are going to eat a blueberry muffin, it needs to be homemade. The store bought ones seem to be loaded with fat and sugar and they don't even taste like a muffin. I actually ran out of blueberries mid-way through the cooking process, was not making another trip to the store that morning, and ended up using 1 diced up banana as a substitute. I kept the recipe as it was originally intended for you below, but know that you could probably substitute just about anything for the fruit here.

Am I the only one that still has problems when it comes to cleaning the muffin pan once you are done using it? Whether I'm cooking cornbread muffins, cupcakes, breakfast muffins, etc. the pan just seems to get harder and harder to clean. The blueberries crust onto the edges of the pan and you get a mini-workout just cleaning the pan. I should really attempt to use the silicon liners in the future.

Either way - next chance you get - make theses blueberry muffins for breakfast. A little homemade blueberry jam would be perfect with them as well.

To Die for Blueberry Muffins

adapted from AllRecipes.com

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1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400. Grease muffin pan or line with muffin paper liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place the vegetable oil in a 1 cup measuring cup. Add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix with the flour mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Fill the muffin tins right to the top. Top the batter with the crumble mixture.

To make crumb topping: combine sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. With your fingertips, combine the butter with the dry ingredients.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.