Jedd's birthday was last weekend and we had a potluck picnic with some family and friends

on the lake. And in between skipping rocks, watching kids play and wandering around the park,

we ate well. I love potlucks because you get to sample other people's food and it was

quite a spread. People brought salsa, cake balls, pasta salad and other fun food.

And since it was the official start of summer I made pasta salad too, including Jedd's birthday

present to himself – fiddleheads. Sure, it might not have been the most elaborate

birthday present he could have indulged himself with, but it was a present for all of us.

At any rate, I loved this salad. It had a ton of flavor and was a little “zazzy” with the addition of

the peperoncini and chili flakes.

(We all skipped rocks)

(Not only were the kids cute, they were stylish too.)

Fiddlehead Pasta Salad

1 box of radiatore pasta

1 cup of fiddleheads

Water

Salt

Ice cubes

4 plum tomatoes, diced

1 cup of seedless cucumber, diced

1 cup of fresh spinach, chopped

½ cup of green olives, quartered

¼ cup of peperoncini, diced

¼ of a red onion, diced

3 scallions, chopped

1/3 of a cup of diced parmesan (optional)

Herbed Vinaigrette

½ cup of olive oil

¼ cup of sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons of dijon mustard

2 teaspoons of dried basil

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of lemon pepper

½ teaspoon of dried chili flakes

Salt and pepper

Mix the oil, vinegar and mustard together until emulsified. Add the basil, oregano,

lemon pepper, chili flakes, salt and pepper.

Soak the fiddleheads in cold water for ½ an hour. Drain and trim off brown pieces.

Mostly fill a medium saucepan with water and salt to taste. Bring the water to a boil.

Drop in the fiddleheads and boil for 10 minutes. Fill a large bowl with cold water and

ice cubes. Drain the fiddleheads and shock them in the cold water to stop them

from continuing to cook.

Cook pasta according to directions. Strain and run under cold water until chilled.

In a large bowl add the pasta, fiddleheads, olives, spinach, peperoncini, tomatoes,

onion, scallions and parmesan. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and let chill for

at least one hour to allow the flavors to meld.

Serves 8-10.

(Photos by Launie Kettler)