Summer is having its last hurrah.  Half of this week has been ridiculously hot and humid.  I’m talking two showers-a-day hot and humid.  But that humidity finally broke a few days ago and now you can feel a touch of fall in the air.

While I absolutely love fall, I’m not quite ready to give up my summer just yet.  My farmer’s market still has plenty of end of the summer vegetables like corn and tomatoes and there are still a few 80 degree days in the forecast.  Warm days like that beg for a meal that doesn’t require you to turn on the oven. 

I came up with this pasta salad last Sunday when even thinking about turning on the oven made me sweat, and I was already sweating buckets.  This meal comes together fast and tastes amazing served up cold.  It also packs in a lot of vegetables and herbs and can be customized to whatever produce you have lying around.

So if you’re like me and aren’t ready to say goodbye to summer, whip up this salad and enjoy these last few days.

The Last Summer Pasta Salad with Herb Sauce

• 2 cups cooked pasta, I used brown rice rotini
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 ears of corn, kernels removed (you can also use frozen kernels, thawed)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 cup bell peppers, I used a mix of yellow, green, and red
• 1 cup zucchini, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic minced

Herb Sauce

• 1 small bunch of basil leaves, about 1/2 cup tightly packed
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
• juice of half a lime
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender and set aside.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions until softened and then add in the peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and corn.  Cook until the edges are slightly brown.  Add in the garlic at the very end and saute for one more minute.
3. Remove the vegetables from heat and let them cool.  In a large bowl combine the pasta and quinoa and the cooled vegetables.  Mix everything well.
4. Pour the herb sauce over everything and stir to combine so everything is coated.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  You can serve it right away or put it in the fridge to cool completely.