(I’m bringing back an old favorite today, for new and necessary pictures and fresh words.)
If I can be really honest with you all (my closest internet friends that is) I’ve been having a hard time being so far away from our family and friends. After a super fast, unexpected trip to Wisconsin, having some of our best friends in town and spending a quick weekend in Florida with Richie’s family, I was missing everyone.
EVERYONE! Even though I’m pretty laid back, I was dramatically asking why we live in California, why we moved away, why I can’t see everyone as much as I like and every other dramatic question I could think of. Apparently even I, have my moments more often than I’d like to admit. I was, in a word, homesick.
And this salad brings me a little closer to home. It’s one of my mom’s standard pasta salads and like I mentioned in the original post, she is the queen b. when it comes to pasta salads. Even the words “pasta salad” remind me of summers in Wisconsin, al fresco dinners (in the screened-in porch, because … mosquitos) consisting of chilled pasta salads and fresh produce.
Summers and a life when my hair turned a greenish hue from spending most of the day at the pool, biking home only for lunch. Summers and a life in Minneapolis that was packed with warm-weather rejoicing and grilling out with friends any time we could. Summers and a life in Los Angeles that’s different, but still so full and delightful.
Sometimes you just need to sulk a little bit…but homesick or not, I’ll never sulk about food and definitely not this pasta salad.
It’s the ideal side for your grilled main courses of the summer season. It’s got bites of chewy pasta, salty olives and blue cheese, sweet, green grapes and flavorful green onions. It’s really simple, but also complex when bites include a taste of every flavor.
The dressing is also simple: just some mayonnaise, lemon juice and salt & pepper.
Simple, delicious, satisfying. Food like this is what I love about cooking.
And family + friends are what I love about this life!
nutrition facts: 333 calories, 15 grams of fat, 39 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 7 grams sugar, 10 grams protein
Blue Cheese & Olive Pasta Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: entree salad side high protein sugar-free vegetarian cheese pasta spring summer
Ingredients (6 servings)
- 8 oz fusilli pasta
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup chopped green onion (about 4-5 onions)
- 4 oz gorgonzola (or any blue cheese), crumbled
- 1 1/2 cup sliced green grapes
- 6 oz can of black olives, drained and sliced in half
Instructions
Prepare pasta as directed.
Set aside.
Whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt & pepper until smooth.
Prep remaining ingredients: chop green onion, crumble blue cheese, slice grapes and olives.
Toss all ingredients together until combined.
Chill for a few hours before serving.
Anna Johnson
I was totally looking for a new side dish for grilling! Will certainly be trying this out. I recently made your greek potato salad which was a hit! We miss you guys. Hopefully you’ll find yourselves back to the Midwest but until then, enjoy the warmth and there will always be facetime! xo
emily (a nutritionist eats)
<3
maria tadic
I love pasta salads in the summer! Such an easy and quick side dish! The grapes are such a unique addition! Love the idea of a bite of sweetness! Yum!
Mercedes
I thought this one looked familiar! Great re-vamp and new photos!
emily (a nutritionist eats)
Yes! I made it for you once! I was just thinking about that dinner because we had key lime pie in Florida and that key lime dessert you made that night was SO good!
sarah k @ the pajama chef
this sounds delicious! i totally get you on the homesickness thing. why can’t all our friends and family live in the same place in ____ cool destination. i’d love that!
emily (a nutritionist eats)
Me too Sarah, I would give just about anything to move everyone I love to LA!
Nancy
I found this online cookbook that really helped me. It has great and delicious recipes that i would recommend to everyone!
http://topbikinimodeldiet.blogspot.com
Karla @ Foodologie
It’s funny because I moved back to Southern California to be near family but I miss all the things I used to do in central NY with friends (which I guess became like family). So I get reverse homesick a lot, especially recently. I’m continually amazed at how comforting certain foods can be just because of the memories they evoke :/
Megan (Braise The Roof)
I love this recipe – the epitome of Midwestern home cooking, right? My mom makes a potato salad that I feel similarly about. Thank goodness for air travel when we’re far from loved ones, right?
PS, I think I need to try this recipe – it looks awesome! Although, don’t tell my boyfriend…he doesn’t like olives or blue cheese. …I KNOW. 🙂
Emily
I don’t even know what to say about that…JK, Richie doesn’t like olives but the nice thing about slicing them in half is it’s easy to pick around them…and then I get more. It is not as easy to pick around the blue cheese though!
Chelsea @ Designs on Dinner
That combo sounds fab! I’d probably switch out the mayo for Greek yogurt, but I love grapes mixed with salty cheese.