The World's Most Delicious Pasta Salad

I realize that the bleak midwinter may seem an odd time to post a recipe for pasta salad, but I made this for a party recently and it was so good I wanted to write it down so I (and you!) can make it again. I also realize the loftiness of my claim, but it is an unusually good salad. This is partly due to the pasta itself: the lovely, firm, lyrically named strozzapreti, which is made all the more delightful by the fact that it means "priest choker" in Italian. No, seriously, it does: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strozzapreti.

The veggies and spices do their bit as well, but I confess the crowning touch is something that would ordinarily disqualify a dish from being blog-worthy, to wit: bottled salad dressing. Generally speaking, I don't use packaged products if I'm going to take credit for a recipe, but in this case I'm making an exception because what we are talking about here is basically crack...er, I mean Annie's Goddess Dressing. This stuff is so yummy that I'm not sure it wouldn't add a certain something to rice pudding, because it's good on everything else; in fact, our addiction is such that when we run out, it always winds up on the shopping list as "crack," hence my little slip above. Yes, it's full of fat and calories, but so what? Who cares? Make this salad and I guarantee that you won't (and neither will your priest, if you have one), so consider yourself absolved. Buon Appetito!

Delicious Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
~ 1.5 lb. pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed (I use strozzapreti, but anything curly with some texture would do)
~ 2 tbsp. minced garlic
~ 1 cup sliced scallions
~ 1 cup each: diced celery, carrots, bell pepper
~ 1 tbsp. curry powder
~ 1 tsp. each: thyme, tarragon, smoked paprika
~ 1/2 tsp. each: salt, hot sauce (more to taste)
~ Fresh black pepper
~ 1 cup thinly sliced black olives
~ 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
~ 1 cup Annie's Goddess Dressing (trust me!)
~ 4 cups chopped, assorted salad greens

Directions:
~ In a skillet or wok, heat the oil and saute the scallions and garlic over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
~ Add the celery, carrots, bell pepper and spices and cook another 5 minutes.
~ In a large bowl, combine the drained pasta, cooked vegetables, olives, tomatoes and Goddess Dressing.
~ Add the salad greens and mix thoroughly.
~ Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving (the longer it sits, the better it will be). This is good cold or at room temperature; I like it on a bed of additional leafy greens.