We're getting ready to head out on an epic 4-day camping trip with a large group of friends and friends of friends. The forecast is calling for rain, so I wanted to get a jumpstart on some of the food prep. Cold macaroni salad is always a great option to prepare ahead of time, as it keeps well and just tastes better and better as the flavors are allowed to marinate and combine.

For this trip, I made a variation on my standard curried pasta salad, adding a few things to help keep the flavors nice and perky even after a couple of days in the cooler. This is my "massive huge batch" but you can easily halve or double the recipe depending on the size of the army you're feeding. You'll notice that many of my measurements are approximate or list a range, and I think that's completely acceptable when you're talking about food meant to be eaten in the out-of-doors.


Curried Macaroni & Edamame Salad
1/2-3/4 lb elbow macaroni or any other small shaped pasta, cooked according to package directions
1-12oz bag frozen edamame (shelled)
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
3-4 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or light soy sauce)
4-5 scallions, chopped
1-2 Tbsp sun-dried or regular tomato paste
2-3 Tbsp Indian curry powder
liberal amounts of salt
pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, heat olive oil on low-medium heat and cook garlic for 30-60 second, until you can really smell the garlic. Remove from heat.

Stir in vinegar, Bragg's, scallions, tomato paste and curry powder until you have a big sloppy slurry.

In a large bowl (or the pot you cooked your macaroni in), combine cooked pasta, edamame and your garlicky slurry. Stir carefully (so as not to break the pasta) until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This salad can be served warm, but I prefer to toss it the fridge (in a sealed screwtop container) before transferring it to the cooler for our woodland adventure.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend and remember the folks in the labor movement who brought you the weekend and the 40-hour work week!