Chicken Pasta Salad with Arugula and Feta -- Something Steady When the Ground Is Shifting

January of the move year, and the logistics are accelerating. I have taken two personal days this month to drive to Beaufort for packing. The parsonage is being sorted into three categories: bring to Charleston, donate to the church, discard. The categories are simple. The decisions are not. Every object carries a story, and deciding which stories to bring and which to leave behind is the cruelest kind of curation.

Mama watches the packing with an expression that oscillates between acceptance and resistance. On Tuesday she was calm, helping me label boxes, telling me which kitchen tools to wrap carefully and which could be stacked. On Wednesday she found me packing her bedroom curtains and said, "Those are mine," with a fierceness that startled us both. I said, "They're coming with us, Mama. Everything is coming with us." She relaxed. The curtains went into the box. The fierceness went back to wherever Mama stores the parts of herself she doesn't want to show.

James has begun his final semester of high school. He is senioritis-proof, which I attribute to the bookstore and to the fact that James has never been able to coast — the Simmons work ethic runs too deep. He is reading Faulkner now, at my suggestion, and is finding him "exhausting and brilliant," which is the correct response to Faulkner and also the correct response to the American South.

At the library, the adult literacy program continues. Bernice can now read at a second-grade level. She brought me a card this week that she had written herself — her handwriting shaky but legible, the message simple: "Thank you for teaching me to read." I put it in my wallet next to the photographs of my children and Mama, because it belongs there, among the evidence of the things that matter most.

I made chicken perloo this week — a South Carolina pilau that uses chicken instead of shrimp, simpler and more weeknight-friendly. The rice absorbs the chicken stock the way memory absorbs experience: slowly, completely, until the original medium is indistinguishable from the flavors it has taken on. I ate it at the kitchen table after a long day of packing in Beaufort and felt the specific exhaustion of a woman who is dismantling one life in order to build another.

The packing days in Beaufort don’t leave much energy for anything elaborate, and Bernice’s card — still tucked in my wallet, still making me tear up when I think about it — reminded me that nourishment comes in many forms: a handwritten note, a warm bowl of food, a meal you can pull together even when you’re running on empty. On the nights I can’t manage the slow comfort of perloo, this chicken pasta salad has become my answer — fast enough for a weeknight, substantial enough to feel like a real meal, the peppery arugula and salty feta cutting through the fatigue with exactly the brightness I need.

Chicken Pasta Salad with Arugula and Feta

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz rotini or fusilli pasta
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or chopped (rotisserie works well)
• 3 cups baby arugula, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 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 to stop cooking, and set aside to cool completely.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust — it should be bright and a little sharp.
3. Combine the salad. In a large bowl, toss the cooled pasta with the chicken, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and olives. Pour the dressing over and toss to coat evenly.
4. Add the greens and feta. Fold in the arugula gently — you want it lightly wilted from the dressing, not crushed. Scatter the crumbled feta over the top.
5. Rest and serve. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes before serving so the pasta absorbs the dressing. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days — the arugula softens but the flavors deepen.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 510mg