Backyard Pasta Salad

My oldest son taught himself to ride a bicycle (minus the training wheels) when he was just shy of 3-years-old. Here was this tiny little body flying around our driveway and cul-de-sac often wearing cowboy boots or footed jammies in addition to his signature blue helmet. We spent what felt like endless hours back then sitting in the front yard, babies and tiny toddlers on my hip or at my feet watching him ride his bike. What started as a few teetering loops around the street quickly turned into jumps off the curb, standing on his bike seat as he gilded down the driveway and daily requests to ride further into the neighborhood.

Eight years later and he still loves riding a bike as much as he did as a little guy. We were all itching for a change in scenery over the weekend so we loaded up a cooler and the bikes to head up towards White Pass in hopes of fresh air, a picnic and some bike riding. We started at Soup Creek, a fun spot for downhill mountain biking near Clear Lake. My husband and son took a few scenic loops down the trail while the rest of us served as official chauffeurs, driving the car up and down the gravel road to drop them at the top of the trail and waiting while they rode down. If it wasn’t so beautiful in the wooden hills, peeks of Mount Rainer from the top of the trail, wildflowers and blowing grasses for miles around us, I probably would have complained.

After a few hours, we set out to find a picnic spot. We drove the rest of the way up to White Pass and parked in the parking lot. It was so good to see the mountain. It’s funny how a place you love can take on a persona in some small way. We all stood looking at the ski runs like we ran into an old friend. We ended up walking the loop around Leech Lake, the cross-country ski track across the street from the resort. We walked on snow, watched beautiful blue birds fly from tree to tree above us and looked for trout and frogs along the edge of the lake. We finally found an empty camp site with a picnic table and settled in for a late lunch. We hungrily dug into sandwiches and chips, pasta salad and fruit. The kids begged to stop at the gas station for treats just like we do at the end of ski days. We prompted them to eat the good stuff, did all the parental reminders on good attitudes and helpfulness, all of us knowing full well we would stop for a treat.

The pasta salad ended up being the hit of the day. Maybe the salad really is good or maybe it was so quintessentially summer feeling (and also possibly a fleeting moment of normalcy), eating at an old picnic table in the mountains on a hot beautiful day, that it didn’t matter at all what we ate. I’ve been leaning on easy family-favorite recipes and this one falls right into that category. I’ve made a version of this recipe a couple times now for a tasty lunch all week long. This salad keeps really well in the fridge for a few days. I use what I have on hand; it’s a great excuse to use up leftovers in a new way. I made my own balsamic dressing which I’ll share at the bottom of the recipe but a store-bought balsamic or Italian dressing will work just fine too. And as always, make this your own, swap in your favorite veggies or cheese so its something you family loves. There’s no way to mess this one up.

Backyard Pasta Salad

• 1 pound rotini pasta

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 red bell pepper

• 2 stalks celery

• 1 English cucumber

• 2-4 cups arugula or baby spinach

• 1 cup cherry tomatos halved

• 1 cup Kalimantan olives halved

• 1 cup salami diced

• 1 cup smoked mozzarella diced

• 3 green onions diced

• 1 cup marinated artichokes

• 1 14-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

• Kosher salt and pepper

• Homemade balsamic dressing to taste

Boil pasta to package instructions in salted water. When pasta is al dente, drain water from pasta. Place pasta in a large bowl and toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside and allow pasta to cool while prepping vegetables. Wash and chop vegetables into small bite-size pieces. Rinse and drain beans. Add ingredients to pasta. Slice salami and mozzarella and add to the bowl as well. Add arugula, marinated artichokes and olives. Use tongs or a spatula to combine ingredients. Liberally salt and pepper the salad. Drizzle with balsamic dressing. Mix salad well so ingredients are well-combined. Balsamic dressing 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 2 cloves garlic, smashed 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup olive oil Pinch of kosher salt and black pepper In a small jar with a lid, combine ingredients. Put lid on jar and shake until well-combined. Taste and adjust flavors to preference adding extra salt if needed. Pour over salad and store extras in the refrigerator for up to four days.