Orange ya glad?

Orange ya glad I didn’t say…

You know how an idea can sound good at one time and then seem really DUMB later on? You know. Things like teaching a knock-knock joke to a 4-year-old, or asking a 14-year-old what he wants for dinner. Dumb, right?

Yeah, I’m there. Especially with this whole idea of the festivals I set up for Gourmet Texas Pasta to attend in May and June. Big celebrations. Lots of people. Opportunity knocking. What’s not to love, right?

Well… see.. the thing is I made these plans in February, when I was wearing three shirts and two pairs of socks to keep warm.  NOT when I was scrambling for my diminishing supply of sleeveless shirts.

Over the Memorial Day holiday, we went to Rockport to the Texas Maritime Museum’s annual Wine Festival. It’s a well-run event and since that was Sean’s first-ever event selling pasta, it’s got a sentimental value to it. Had to go.

This weekend, we’ll be in Houston for the annual Houston Beer Fest, right downtown. Never been but we’ve heard great things about it and Sean thinks very highly of one of the vendor organizers, so off we go.

At the end of the month, we’re heading to Granbury for their July 4^th parade festivities. Never mind that it will still be June: That’s when the party is, so that’s when we go.

Yep… when it was 35 degrees outside, these all sounded WONDERFUL. Now, when the temperature is nearing 100 every day, I’m remembering what happens to pixies when they get exposed to heat and humidity: Pixies wilt.

To make myself seem even crazier, I point out the fact that we serve HOT samples, cooked on site at our events. That means 100 degrees,  99% humidity and a kettle of boiling water giving off even more steam.. DUMB.

So, say, the pasta mom and the pasta man, make COLD samples. Make pasta salad. I might not be smart enough to have had the good idea, but I’m smart enough to listen.

Even smarter? Letting Mom create the recipes. Seriously. I yelped for help and within an hour, I had five cold pasta salad recipes in my email inbox. So, far this one is my favorite. It’s had a lot of names, but I’m thinking truth in advertising is important. So, I’m going to call it Simple Orange Salad. Except for the pasta, everything in this can be found on the shelves of HEB (probably whatever grocery store you use) prepped and ready to use. How simple can it get? In fact, this salad probably can be made in less time than you just devoted to reading about it. 

Be prepared, though: We offered samples of this at recent events and sold out of SOS each time. This salad disappears almost as fast as it goes together. Enjoy!

SIMPLE ORANGE SALAD

*1/2 package Gourmet Texas Pasta

              Szechuan Orange Spice linguine, 

cooked, cooled and cut

*1/2 c. sliced almonds

*1/2 c. chopped dried cranberries

*1/2 c. cooked, chopped bacon

*1 small can mandarin orange sections, drained

*Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing, enough to moisten to your taste.

Toss everything together, let it sit a bit and you’ve got a great COOL way to bring something different to the dinner table. Or to your next pot-luck. Enjoy.

And remember: Keep pasta weird!