The Best Pasta Salad

The name says it all. This is light and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of small shell pasta
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 pints of grape tomatoes (I like to mix red and yellow)
• 3/4 cup of pitted black olives
• 3 tablespoons of fresh chives
• 1 handful of fresh basil
• 1/2 cucumber
• white wine vinegar (about 5 tablespoons)
• extra virgin olive oil (about 8 tablespoons)
• sea salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)

 Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions (al dente).
2. Chop all other ingredients into pieces about the size of the cooked pasta shells (this is time consuming). 
3. Mix together the cooked pasta, veggies and herbs. 
4. Toss with the olive oil, vinegar,  salt and pepper.