Cavatappi with Bacon and Summer Vegetables

I tried Cavatappi with Bacon and Summer Vegetables from Cooking Light tonight, and it was delicious, but I don't see how cooking vegetables in bacon grease makes for a light dish. That said, I would definitely make this again. I screwed up the bacon a little, slightly too burnt and in the midst of my bacon panic the noodles cooked a little bit longer than they should've - not a disaster, but definitely not al dente. Other than my own timing issues, the only confusing part was when (and, I guess, if) I was supposed to add the actual bacon back into the dish. I went for it, but I suppose if I was more concerned about calories I would not add it in.

I think it would also work really well with autumnal vegetables - keep the onions and garlic, but sub in butternut squash and parsnips for the zucchini and corn. Pete also suggested adding brown sugar to the bacon (the indulgent billionaire's bacon if you will) to the autumn version. I'm not sure if that will make it too sweet, but maybe if you added red pepper flakes after cooking you could achieve a sweet and spicy dish.

Recipe: Cooking Light's Cavatappi with Bacon and Summer Vegetables