By Jasmine was accepted to the Berklee pre-college summer program. She's going to BOSTON. My fifteen-year-old daughter is flying to Boston to study music at a program that has produced Grammy winners and she is fifteen and she is going and I am terrified and proud and the two feelings are the same feeling dressed in different clothes. Terrell offered to pay half the tuition. He offered. Without being asked. The man who sends twenty-dollar bills and hundred-dollar gift cards is paying half of Berklee, and I don't know if guilt or growth or some combination drove the offer but I don't care because Jasmine is going and the going is what matters.
I packed her bag. Not like I packed Marcus's bag — no cast iron skillet, no Folgers can. Jasmine's inheritance travels differently: it travels in her voice. The can is not in her suitcase because the can is in her throat. The recipes are not in containers because the recipes are in her hands. The line extends through different channels. Marcus carries it in iron and spice. Jasmine carries it in song. Both valid. Both Mama. Both the kitchen translated into the world.
Fourth of July before she leaves. The cookout. All of us. Marcus home. Jasmine here for one more week. The backyard holding thirty people because the neighborhood cookout has become an institution and the institution is charcoal and community and the particular magic of a family that feeds everyone who shows up. Curtis in his wheelchair. Derek at the grill. The kids in the driveway. The sky full of fireworks. My daughter leaves for Boston in five days and my son is home from Morehouse and the table seats thirty and the line holds. The line always holds.
The cookout feeds thirty people now — it used to feed twelve, and before that it was just us on a blanket in the backyard with a bag of chips. The dish that grew with the headcount is this pasta salad: bright, cold, forgiving of the July heat, and easy enough to double when Derek texts me that he invited the whole block. I make a pot the night before every Fourth, and it’s always gone before the fireworks start. This year felt like the right time to write it down, before Jasmine leaves and the summer shifts, because some recipes belong to a place and a season and a particular version of your life that you want to hold onto just a little longer.
Tri-Color Pasta Salad
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 1 hr 32 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 2 lbs tri-color rotini pasta
- 1 cup sliced black olives
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup salami or pepperoni, quartered (optional)
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Italian dressing (plus more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Salad Supreme seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tri-color rotini according to package directions until al dente, about 10—12 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water until completely cooled.
- Prep the vegetables. While the pasta cooks, dice the bell peppers and red onion, halve the grape tomatoes, and slice the olives. If using salami or pepperoni, quarter the slices.
- Combine. In a very large bowl, toss the cooled pasta with the bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, red onion, and meat (if using). Add the Parmesan, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Dress and season. Pour the Italian dressing over the salad and sprinkle with Salad Supreme seasoning. Toss everything together until evenly coated. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or additional dressing as needed.
- Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, or overnight for best flavor. Toss again before serving and add a splash more dressing if the pasta has absorbed it.
- Serve. Transfer to a serving dish or keep in the bowl for a crowd. Serve cold straight from the refrigerator.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 295 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 510mg