Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pasta Salad

Where are my open shelving people?  I need your help.   I never thought I was an open shelf person.  It's not that I'm trying to hide things behind cabinet doors or cover up the fact that I keep cluttered cupboards - it's comes down to the fact that I hate dusting.😂  How lazy am I that I let my adversity to dusting dictate the type of shelving in our house? 🤣

The problem is that I like the look of exposed shelves - just not the practicality.  My struggle is balancing the aesthetic, convenience and the easy access of an open shelf with the practicality of a door.😅  When I designed my kitchen, a few years ago, I had 55 cabinet doors and drawers installed and only 3 open shelves.  A coffee and tea bar and a bookcase style cutting board rack.  

We have a giant wall with a range hood in our new basement kitchen and when we were designing the space, that wall was lacking one thing - floating shelves.😬  For a girl who struggles with decorating and is opposed to nick knacks, accent shelves are a challenge. 😂  I want to fill my shelves with pretty things but the practical side of me only wants to put useful things on them.😬  Looks like I'm going to have to get used to using my dust rag more often.😅​

I'm learning to see the value of a few well placed open shelves and I like my floating shelves but I still prefer kitchen cabinets with doors that close.  The ironic thing is that I really like to see open shelves in other people's kitchens.  I find it so interesting to see what people put on their shelves and how they're organized. 

Restaurant kitchens are almost always equipped with exposed shelving.  More for practicality than aesthetics but it's great to know exactly what's in the space.  There's just something comforting about the fact that I know what tools are being used to make my food. 

A pot, a strainer and a bowl is all that's required to make this simple and delicious summer salad. All things easily placed on a single open shelf, by the way.😅 Sun dried tomato and artichoke pasta salad is a great side dish or even a light lunch entree.  It's super tasty and easy to put together too.  

Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pasta Salad
1 lb whole wheat pasta
1 6.7 oz jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
1 15 oz jar quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained and cut in half
4 cups spinach
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced

Cook pasta to al dente.  Drain.  

In a large bowl, combine pasta, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, spinach and Parmesan cheese.

Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

​Drizzle dressing over the pasta salad and toss until salad is well coated.

Ciao!

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