By Megan's spring break. She has five days off and her plan is to do nothing, which for Megan means reorganizing the entire apartment. She went through the kitchen cabinets on Monday. She went through the bathroom on Tuesday. By Wednesday she'd found three of my hockey jerseys from high school and held them up and said, "Are these sentimental or are they laundry?" They are both. I kept them.
We drove to Door County for a day trip on Thursday. Tom and Linda go there every summer for a week, but Megan had never been, and Door County in early spring is beautiful in a quiet, understated way — the cherry blossoms aren't out yet, the tourists aren't there yet, it's just rolling hills and farms and the bay. We ate lunch at a fish boil place in Fish Creek — whitefish, potatoes, onions, all boiled in a massive kettle over a wood fire, finished with a dramatic boilover where the cook throws kerosene on the fire and the pot erupts. Megan screamed. I laughed. The fish was excellent.
On the drive home she fell asleep in the passenger seat with her face against the window and I drove through the Wisconsin countryside watching the sun set behind dairy farms and I thought about Babcia. She never went to Door County. She never went anywhere, really — Bay View to St. Josaphat to the Polish Center and back, every week, for fifty years. Her world was small and complete. Mine is getting bigger. I don't know if that's better or just different. Probably different.
Made a Door County fish chowder when we got home — inspired by the fish boil, but richer, creamier. Whitefish, potatoes, corn, cream, dill. A chowder thick enough to stand a spoon in. We ate it on the couch (with the blanket) and watched a movie and Megan fell asleep again by 9:15. A perfect day. An ordinary, perfect day.
The fish boil was the main event, but Door County has always been as much about the orchards as it is about the water — and driving home through all those farms with Megan asleep in the passenger seat, I kept thinking about fruit. This blueberry pasta salad is my low-key tribute to that part of the trip: the stillness, the countryside, the feeling that a place can be exactly what it needs to be without trying too hard. It doesn’t ask much of you, which felt exactly right for a Thursday evening that had already given us plenty.
Blueberry Pasta Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min (plus 30 min chilling) | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 12 oz rotini or bowtie pasta
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 English cucumber, quartered and sliced
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, torn
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and spread on a sheet pan to cool completely.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper until combined.
- Combine the salad. In a large bowl, toss cooled pasta with blueberries, cucumber, red onion, and feta. Pour dressing over the top and toss gently to coat.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors come together.
- Finish and serve. Scatter torn mint over the top just before serving. Taste and adjust salt or lemon as needed.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 210mg