Groovy 'Who Brought That' Pasta Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 pound tri-color rotini pasta
1/2 cup water, divided
5 drops red food coloring
5 drops green food coloring
5 drops blue food coloring
5 drops yellow food coloring
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, grated
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
4 carrots, grated

Preparation

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain and rinse under cold water.
Put 2 tablespoons water in each of 4 resealable plastic bags; add red food coloring to a bag. Add green food coloring to second bag. Add blue food coloring to third bag. Add yellow food coloring to fourth bag.
Divide rotini among the four bags; squeeze bag to evenly color rotini. Set aside to allow color to saturate, about 10 minutes. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
Whisk sugar, vinegar, oil, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and pepper together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved into dressing.
Mix onion, green bell pepper, and carrots into pasta. Drizzle dressing over pasta mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate until flavors blend, at least 2 hours.