July 7th is National Macaroni Day! (not to be confused with Mac n Cheese day, which is next week). As it’s still rather warm and muggy out–and I want nothing to do with my oven being on whatsoever–I was on a quest to come up with a dinner to make that was healthy, cold, quick, and minimal when it comes to creating any additional heat in my apartment.

Here’s what I came up with:

• 1 cup macaroni
• 3-4 cups water
• ¹⁄₂ cucumber, sliced or diced
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced (optional
• ¹⁄4 cup red onion, diced
• ¹⁄4 cup green onion, chopped
• ¹⁄4 cup canned corn, drained
• ¹⁄₂ cup cheese, shredded or diced
• ¹⁄₂ cup celery, diced
• ¹⁄₂ cup red peppers, diced
• ¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Here’s all you need to do:

1. Cook macaroni according to directions on package. This will be the only hot part of the preparation.
2. Drain and chill the pasta, adding lemon juice along with a sprinkle of salt to the macaroni, and let the flavours soak in.
3. While the pasta cools down, prep the rest of your ingredients. I’ve sometimes also mini red tomatoes, too!
4. When the pasta has chilled, add the rest of ingredients into the bowl, mix thoroughly and refrigerate until serving time.

This combo will make enough for about 4-5 servings and can be easily cut in half or duplicated, depending how many you’re serving. This is also a dish that will last for a few days and would be fantastic if you’re looking to do a little meal planning for your week.

So there you have it – a quick and simple summer salad to enjoy seated next to your fan or A/C unit, or even out under a tree for a picnic. Serve this with a slightly chilled buttery Chardonnay (BC, California or Australia Chards are best, in my opinion), to really bring out the flavours in the pasta and cheese.

Happy National Macaroni Day!