I’m sitting here cater-corner from Ben.  He sits (with his laptop) at the end of our milk chocolate brown sofa.  And I sit (with my laptop) on a dark chocolate brown chair.  We’re both writing and drinking our morning coffee. Both of us take our coffee black.

There’s a giant difference one might not notice if they were in front of us staring at the tops of our faces hiding behind our screens. It’s the amount of work we are actually getting done.  I suppose if you were listening you could hear the difference in the clack rate of our fingertips pressing down on the key boards. But, if you were standing behind us you would see that in the last hour I’ve written just over a hundred words and Ben has most likely written over a thousand.  I’m not angry. Just a little jealous.

I love this time together. I realize we’re not talking. But that will come later.  We’re evening and car ride conversationalists. I love our weekends now since I switched to a normal daytime schedule. We get up early (while Will is still sleeping) and write/blog/teach/learn/read. It’s such a calm and quiet couple of hours. Then Will gets up and our “real life” day begins.

A few years ago I got this recipe from my mother-in-law (Deanna).  If someone asked me what my favorite pasta salad recipe was, this recipe would immediately come to my mind.  It has everything good in it.  It is the perfect blend of salty, savory, and tangy.  And the texture combination is fantastic.  A bowl of this salad is like a fresh bag of salty potato chips.  Once you dig into it you will not stop eating until it is gone and then you will be sad that it’s all gone.

I asked Deanna if I could post the recipe here.  She told me that she got the recipe from a neighbor years ago.  I searched: “Ham and Blue Cheese Salad” online and many recipes similar to this one emerged.  Mine is only slightly adapted from the original one I got from Deanna.  I decided to share my adapted recipe even though I don’t know who to actually give credit to and where the original basic recipe actually came from.  I believe my adaptations are enough to make it legal.  But, if anyone out there knows the origin of this salad please feel free to let me know.  I would love to find out!

If you make this salad to take to a gathering you might want to double the recipe. Otherwise it will go way too quickly!

Print

Ham Blue Cheese and Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 8 oz. bow tie pasta cooked according to package directions
• 1/2 cup pecans chopped
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped
• 4 oz. cooked honey ham diced
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

1. Add cooked and drained pasta to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add pecans, Parmesan cheese, basil, parsley, ham, blue cheese, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, pepper and lemon juice, tossing gently to combine.
3. Add oil stirring gently.
4. Cover and chill.
5. Double this recipe for a crowd.
6. If the salad seems dry add more oil and lemon juice.

I can hear Will stirring now.  Looks like it’s time to start our first weekend day!