You know those days when you don’t really have a solid plan for dinner, just some ingredients you want to use?  Today was one of those days.  I was thinking of making pasta for dinner, but it was super hot out and I didn’t really want a warm meal.  I also remembered I had some crab meat in the fridge that I didn’t have plans for and decided to look into a pasta salad with crab.  I couldn’t do a traditional crab salad because of my aversion for condiments, including mayonnaise (that’s right, Tom and I don’t eat condiments.  In fact, my dad’s whole side of the family hates mustard with a passion.  In our house the hatred extends to mayo and ketchup, too.).  At any rate, I looked at a couple of recipes online for inspiration, and here’s what I came up with based on what I had on hand:

-          2 cups seashell pasta

-          2 tomatoes, diced

-          1 orange bell pepper, diced

-          1/8 cup red onion, diced

-          4 “sticks” of imitation crab meat, diced

-          2 Tbsp. olive oil

-          1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

-          2 tsp. lemon juice

-          1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

-          Salt, pepper, garlic, parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cool water until pasta is brought down to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine pasta with remaining ingredients.   

Season to taste and serve either chilled or room temperature.

This turned out great for a light meal on a hot summer-like day!