CSA week 4 - ravioli salad

Nothing new in the box this week and not a lot of creativity. We had several days with temperatures in the 90-100 range and so much humidity you could see the air. That really does not inspire cooking.

lettuce - salad
arugula - salad
cucumber - salad
chard - simple saute with garlic & red pepper
kale - Chicken, Kale & Potatoes (Food & Wine, online)
zucchini - Zucchini Bread (The Best Light Recipe by Cook's Illustrated - modified this week)
yellow squash & zucchini - Ravioli Salad
blueberries - on cereal & yogurt

This time I made a couple changes to the zucchini bread and it turned out well:
reduced sugar to 3/4 cup (was 1 cup)
replaced cake flour with whole wheat pastry flour
omitted the lemon juice but added lemon zest

Ravioli Salad

When I found out we were getting a heat wave, I decided to make some meals in advance that could be eaten cold on those days it's too hot to cook. Pasta salad with some of the veggies and some kind of protein sounded perfect but there wasn't much meat or cheese in the house. Digging through the pantry, I found these little dried ravioli from Trader Joe's, left over from last summer when my sensitive stomach could only tolerate cheese ravioli, fruit, and crackers.

These particular ravioli tasted terrible when eaten in typical ravioli fashion so they sat in the cabinet all this time. But I thought they might work in a salad with lots of other flavors, where they weren't the star. It turned out great! The salty, kind of parmesan-like taste, really complemented the veggies.

3 medium summer squash, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium carrot, grated
1 small sweet onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon dried basil (or 1/4 cup fresh)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups mini ravioli, cooked, drained and cooled
1/2 cup grated parmesan

In a large bowl, gently mix together the squash, tomatoes, carrots, onion, salt and 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar. Let sit for 20 - 30 minutes.

Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, herbs, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add the dressing, ravioli, and parmesan to the marinated vegetables. Gently mix to combine well.