TGIF: Your salad days

We celebrated my birthday this week. Yep. 39 again.

Our friend Joe Tingen offers this reminder. We were all young once. Remember your "salad days"? Remember those times of "youthful indiscretion"? "The good old days" or our "heydays"? Joe says youth, like a good salad, is fresh and green.

I certainly was fresh. Got me in a lot of trouble. It also made life more interesting.

As spring heads to summer, here's a salad for you. Fresh and green, like our misspent youth.

Tri-Color Rotini Salad (for 4)
1 pkg tri-color rotini pasta
6 oz feta cheese crumbled
8 cherry tomatoes halved
1 red pepper seeded & chopped
1 green pepper seeded & chopped
3 large cloves garlic crushed
8 sliced stuffed olives
8 sliced ripe olives
4 cups mixed salad greens
1 loaf hot, sliced Italian bread
1 bottle of your favorite white wine

Dressing
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
6 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
1/4 tsp each salt & pepper

Chill white wine. Cook pasta by package directions and drain. Mix dressing thoroughly and in a large bowl toss all ingredients with dressing except salad greens. Cover and refrigerate two hours.

To serve, nest greens on serving platters and top with marinated ingredients. Serve with hot bread. Open chilled white wine. Enjoy.