The Foodie Files

According to my Facebook newsfeed, everyone in the whole world is about to have a baby.  Either that or they just had a baby.  Or they're dealing with the April Fools aftermath of falsely claiming they're having a baby.  Now, despite the fact that I'm many moons away from bearing a child of my own, I love a good baby picture.  Luckily, this allows me to keep two feet firmly planted in the "ooh and ahh" zone.  The truth is, I've done nothing but contribute to the overflow of baby pictures that is Facebook ever since the addition of my cousin's newborn, Vivian.  The child is perfect.  That's all there is to say about that.  In the spirit of baby mania, I've affectionately named today's Foodie Files "Vivian Pasta Salad" for a variety of reasons.  For starters, I chose striped farfalle pasta so the base of the dish would look like little pink bows (the perfect nod to baby girl, don't you think?).  Secondly, this just so happens to be the meal I brought Vivi's mama when she got home from the hospital as one of those "thanks for birthing a gorgeous child we're all in love with" gestures.  It's got a Mediterranean flair to it that I think you're gonna love, not to mention a flawless namesake.  All around...win, win.

Ingredients:

1 10 oz package of tortellini

3 cups farfalle pasta 

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large zucchini, diced

1 large yellow pepper, diced

1 cup Ciliegine mozzarella balls, quartered

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

2/3 cup marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette 

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook tortellini and farfalle according to package instructions and rinse with cool water.  In a medium pan, saute seasoned zucchini in extra virgin olive oil for about 3 minutes, or until just tender.  Remove from heat completely and set aside. 

Mix pasta, zucchini, yellow pepper, tomato, mozzarella, artichoke hearts and balsamic vinaigrette until evenly distributed. 

Cover and chill for about an hour, then serve.  Look at that little pink Vivian bow...too, too cute (and delicious to boot).