Potluck food (1)

I'm headed to a vegetarian Shabbat potluck dinner tomorrow night, and spent the last hour or so putting my contributions together. I love the concept of potlucks - they're so much easier than hosting a solo dinner party, and so much cheaper than going out - but the food can be hit-or-miss. So I always try to bring a large quantity of something that I'm happy to eat, so that at least some people will be well fed.

This first recipe was originally inspired by "Greek-Style Canellini with Vegetables," from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, a cookbook that influenced me enormously when I was learning to cook in high school and is probably most responsible for my general cooking style. I've made a bunch of substitutions and changed the proportions over the years, depending on what vegetables, herbs, and beans are at hand.

Vegetable Pasta Salad

1 lb. short, chunky pasta
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large yellow or vidalia onion, diced
3 medium summer squash (squashes?), quartered length-wise and sliced - I used two zucchini and one yellow squash
3 large carrots, halved length-wise and sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 14.5 oz cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans garbanzos

Cook the pasta according to package instructions, rinse in cool water to stop cooking, and drain. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and place in a large serving bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, saute the onions and garlic in a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a very large pan or soup pot until translucent. Add the carrots and dried herbs and saute for a few more minutes, then the squash. When the squash is tender (about 5 minutes), add the cooked vegetables, tomatoes (undrained), and garbanzos (drained and rinsed) to the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.

(As with any good potluck contribution, this is good warm or at room temperature.)