This recipe for Mardi Gras Pasta Salad came from a Cajun friend of mine. Living in Louisiana, she had many recipes to share that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

This pasta salad is the perfect festive Mardi Gras dish, and in addition to being pleasing to the eye, it’s one of the best pasta salads I’ve ever eaten.

Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. Make ahead, refrigerate and enjoy it the next day, or eat at room temperature the day it is prepared.

Mardi Gras Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) box Tri-color Rotini Pasta
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 cup green onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf basil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place into a large mixing bowl.

The colors of Tri-color Rotini Pasta are green, orange and natural. So, in order to have purple, green and gold, I added purple food coloring to the natural colored pasta to make purple pasta. To enhance the color of the green and orange pasta, after it is cooked, separate pasta by color and add a few drops of food coloring. Works every time.

Melt butter in a skillet; sauté corn for 2 to 3 minutes. Combine the corn, cabbage, onions and bell peppers with the pasta. Mix in mayonnaise a little at a time; add mustard, basil, salt and pepper. Toss gently to thoroughly coat all ingredients.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

From the scriptures

Almost all books in the Bible contain references to foods. Luke 4:4 says, “It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Reading the Bible will supply you with spiritual food the same way that cooking and consuming food supplies your body with physical food.

My pastor, Dr. Billy Nale, First Baptist Church of Foley, has given his congregation a Bible challenge for 2013. The challenge is to memorize 36 Scripture verses in 2013. Each Sunday morning, he will suggest a weekly Bible verse for us to learn. On the fourth week, we will review these three verses daily.  At the end of the year, we will have memorized 36 verses, committing them to memory. We should be able to readily recall each verse as needed.

Our Memory Verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 9:6,  “The point is this:  whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”