I realize that talking about the weather is nobody's idea of interesting conversation. But people, it's hot. If we are to be eating anything other than sorbet or chips and guacamole (both of which made up a substantial portion of my diet yesterday), then it needs to be cool and slurpy and delicious. Like pasta salad.
I know what you're thinking. Pasta salad? Doesn't that tend to be, well, kind of awful? Agreed. But it doesn't have to be. And so, on this sweltering day, I present a better pasta salad — a mayo-free pasta salad. A pasta salad filled with summer vegetables and punchy dressing. In fact, I present five of them. You can read about them (and about my pasta salad credo in general) over at NPR's Kitchen Window.