It’s climbing season again, yipee! If you follow us on Instagram, you may know that I have an actual climbing goal this season- to finish the infamous “Gunsmoke.”
Gunsmoke is an uber-classic bouldering problem in Joshua Tree National Park. It is a 85 foot long V3 traverse that I’ve been playing on for about 7 years, never with any hope or intention of finishing it. But I feel like it’s possible if I really put my mind to it. And train.
During climbing season, our food focus shifts a little. We go outside any chance we get, which may mean running out to the park after work, sleeping outside, and climbing for half a day before work again. It may mean leaving the house at 4am and getting home the same evening. Food doesn’t necessarily have to be nonperishable, but it has to be easy, and preferably ready to eat at whatever time we get off a rock, with little to no prep.
We’ve gotten into loving salads for this purpose. Pasta salads, bean salads, grain salads. This particular one is heavy on the salad portion and lighter on the pasta. It can be eaten cold like a salad or hot like a pasta, which makes it great for lunch or dinner. It’s filled with fresh ingredients that can be swapped with almost anything fresh in your house, and requires very little to make a dressing (just lemon and olive oil).
Wes likes to put pasta in his salad, and I’ve always thought it was weird. But I get it now. Sometimes you need a lot of vegetable bang for your bite, but the comfort and energy from a sprinkling of pasta is always welcome.
Hope to see you out at the crag!
Arugula Corn Salad Pasta
Yield
4 servingsPrep Time / Cook Time
/Activity Guide
Bike Touring, Car Camping, Day TripIngredients
- 1 bunch baby arugula
- 2 ears frozen corn (or fresh if you've got it)
- 1 bunch broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 pound bite-sized pasta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, flaked
Tools
- Knife
- Large pot
- Microplane grater or zester
- Strainer
- Slotted spoon
Method
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook about halfway, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in broccoli and corn (or whatever veggies you have) to the pasta and water, and cook until pasta is perfectly al dente, about another 6 minutes.
- Strain vegetables and pasta, and let cool slightly.
- Pour veggies and pasta over a big bed of arugula.
- Add olive oil, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and chili flakes, and parmesan cheese to the whole thing, and toss to coat.
Arugula will wilt slightly, unless you wait for the pasta and veggies to cool before adding them. Your choice.
