Summer pasta salad

I dislike mayonaise based pasta dishes, especially in the summer. (Who wants to eat that when it's hot?) I started making this pasta salad back in Atlanta because it's flexible enough to add just about anything, and it's easy to make.
Ingredients:
1 package penne pasta (or whatever kind you like), boiled until al dente and rinsed in cold water
1 head broccoli, broken into smallish stalks
1 head cauliflower, broken into smallish pieces
3-4 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
garlic, chopped
mushrooms, sliced (if you like)
1 c cherry or plum tomatoes, halved
1 c almonds (or nut of your choice), toasted
1 c dried cherries (or cranberries, or blueberries, or whatever dried fruit you like)
Fresh spinach and/or arugula
Herbs (we use about a tablespoon of oregano, basil and a teaspoon of thyme, but you can also use cilantro and a bit of mint) and salt/pepper
1 to 3 ratio of oil to vinegar/citrus juice (about 1/4 c total...we usually use a mixture of balsamic, regular vinegar and a bit of either lime juice or orange juice with olive oil)

Put a large stock pot on to boil with plain water. Par boil the broccoli until bright green and still crunchy, maybe a minute or two. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat with cauliflower (might take a minute more than the broccoli). Add the carrots (you can par boil these as well, or leave them raw so they're a little more crunchy) and tomatoes in the bowl (don't boil the tomatoes).
In a skillet with 1-2 T olive oil, saute onions over medium heat until almost carmelized. Add garlic and mushrooms, cooking a few minutes more with a splash of soy sauce. Add to the bowl of veggies. Repeat with spinach and arugula until just wilted. Add to the bowl. Mix well, but gently.
In a separate bowl, mix oil, vinegar and herbs.
If you aren't eating it right away, add 1/3rd of the vinegrette to the pasta salad, stirring to coat and cover with Saran wrap. Keep in frig until ready to use.
Keep vinegrette in the frig too. When ready to eat, add the rest of the vinegrette, the nuts and dried fruit. Stir well and serve.