acini di pepe

Whew knew there WAS such a thing? It's a little tiny pasta, that I had in a WONDERFUL salad recently. I got the recipe, and plan to make it for Christmas. So last night, I went to the store, and bought all the ingreidents. Except I forgot the pasta. How's that for strange ... buy the pasta salad ingredients, and forget the pasta. :)

Went BACK to the store this morning, and discovered that acini di pepe pasta isn't quite as easy to find as one might hope. :) More shopping to follow at lunch today! (I'll copy the recipe at the end ... it's one of the few pasta salads I've found that contains vinegar that doesn't taste overwhelmingly of the stuff).

Got to the fancy, expensive gym on my free-week coupon last night, and discovered it's not NEARLY as nice as the $60/year university gym. The equipment is less stable; there are fewer options in weight machines, and the weights listed on the side of the machines don't seem to be "true" to how heavy they feel (assuming the ones I'm used to are standard). I usually lift 72 pounds with my arms, and 84 with my legs ... yet on these machines last night, there were times I could barely budge 70 pounds, and other times it felt way too light. I'm realizing how thankful I am for my alumni benefits at the college! I used the eliptical machine for a while, and definately am a fan - they're easy to use, not too hard on the knees, and less "bouncy" so you can read while you're on them.

Looking forward to Christmas - may your day bring to mind He whose birth it celebrates!

Trinka


Acini di Pepe Salad

1 1/2 cups acini di pepe pasta, or any small pasta such as orzo
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup red grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup yellow grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup finely sliced radicchio
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 1/2 cups basil leaves, torn into large pieces
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook the pasta for about 6 minutes or until tender.
Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Toss the pasta with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt.
Fold in the tomatoes, pine nuts, radicchio, onion, and basil.
Sprinkle with the feta cheese.
Serve at room temperature.