Delicious Pasta Salad

This weekend at the grocery I was playing with the recipe generator while Brad grabbed items from that chilly section where I never go (the m-e-a-t). The recipe generator is a touch screen machine that prints out your selected recipes. It's neat, but usually a laugh due to the complete lack of recipes I would make. This time, however, I found a cool vegetarian section. I printed out one for Marinated Macaroni Salad. Sounds mayonaisey, right, like a gross picnic offering? Nope! It was a delicious pasta salad with a few ingredients I've never thought to add to my pasta salads.

This is the recipe with my few tweaks...I used smoked tofu in place of the smoked mozzarella and it was great!

3 T olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 c red wine vinegar

2 T chopped fresh oregano

1 T chopped fresh thyme

1.5 t kosher salt

1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes

6 c cooked macaroni pasta (I used shells)

2 c chopped red bell pepper

2 c endive, chopped coarsely

1 c olives, wedged

1 c diced smoked tofu (or smoked mozzarella iffn' you like the cheese)

Heat oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic, turn to low, and cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally till evenly golden. Remove from heat.

Allow oil to cool for 3-4 minutes, then whisk in red wine vinegar, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper flakes. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, peppers, endive, olives, and tofu/cheese. Add red wine garlic dressing and toss to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes, then serve cold or at room temperature.