Yesterday was Zach’s actual birthday and all the food from his birthday dinner on Sunday was gone so I made him another pasta salad which was just as good if not better than the first one.  The tomatoes in my garden are finally staring to ripen so I used a bunch in this salad, so yummy!  It comes from My Recipes.

Basic Vinaigrette

6 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

4 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Salad

1 pound pasta

1 large shallot, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

3 cups (1 pound) cherry tomatoes or chopped Roma tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 pound Mozzarella balls, quartered or halved (I chopped up the rounds of Mozzarella that I had from Costco)

2 tablespoons Parmesan

1  Cook pasta according to package directions.

2  Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in shallot, garlic and tomatoes.  Let marinate for 10 minutes while pasta is cooking.

3  Add cooked and drained pasta to bowl and toss gently then add basil, Mozzarella and Parmesan and toss gently.