Marinated Pasta Salad

This recipe came from my husband's great aunt. Her original recipe called for three times the amount of oil, vinegar and sugar that I use. I will add her amounts to the notes section. Judge for yourself how much marinade you would like.

1 pound pasta (for gluten free, use rice or quinoa pasta)*
1/2 c. oil**
1/2 c. vinegar***
1/2 c. evaporated cane juice crystals
2 Tbsp. mixed seasoning****
sea salt to taste

Cook pasta following package directions until al dente. Drain. Add to marinade and keep in fridge 1 hour to overnight giving the flavors as much time to "meld" as possible.

Just before serving, add any combination of chopped veggies you would like. Some of my favorites are tomato*****, onion, celery, peppers (green, yellow, red, orange), cucumber and carrots.

Serve well chilled.

Notes:
*I prefer small pastas...macaroni, rotini, wheels, shells, ziti, especially "piccolini" sizes.

**I use the oil that would work best with the flavor I'm trying to achieve. Canola for Mexican, Olive for Italian or Sesame for Asian.

***Again, I use the vinegar that would work best with the flavors I'd like to blend. Red wine vinegar for Italian, rice wine vinegar for Asian. White vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegars work well too!

****Any combination of herbs will work well, just remember to compliment. Garlic, basil, rosemary, oregano blend for Italian; cilantro, dried chili peppers, garlic, cumin for Mexican; Sprinkle with sesame seeds or slivered almonds for Asian.

*****Tomatoes do get mushy if you have leftovers...and this does make a lot of pasta salad. I usually leave the tomatoes out and add just before I serve.

Remember to have fun and experiment with different flavors. Play with it, mix it up and it will be different every time. Honestly, I have yet to make a bad combination. If you're hesitant, you can probably google good seasoning ideas for different blends. Also, mix up the veggies to compliment the salad. You can use what you have on hand, or specifically add some that go with the "theme". Snow pea pods would be great for Asian! I've even thought about trying jicama in a Mexican blend.

Last note- original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups each of oil, vinegar and sugar, but I've never used this much.