You know, I actually really look forward to weekly meal prep. Sure, it’s technically a chore, and it can be a bit tedious to prepare several dishes at once, but it gives me a few uninterrupted hours each week to just put on my headphones and catch up on my favorite podcasts while I mindlessly (but carefully) chop vegetables, rotate bakes, wash dishes and repeat.

One of my go-to podcasts is NPR’s “This American Life,” and this past week’s episode was titled “Not Today, Hades!” The premise was drawing parallels between folks’ real-life experiences and the experiences of characters in Greek mythology. As I chugged away at my meal prep in preparation for what was about to be one of the busiest weeks of my life, I couldn’t help but feel a parallel to the character of Sisyphus.

In case you’re not familiar with the tale, Sisyphus was a human king who bested the lightning god Zeus and cheated death itself. As punishment for his crimes, he was condemned to spend a torturous eternity in the underworld rolling a huge boulder up a hill. Each time he came close to reaching the peak of the steep hill, the enchanted boulder rolled all the way back to the bottom, and Sisyphus was forced to climb back down and start again, over and over, forever. To be fair, all I had to do this week was juggle three separate jobs and the five bottle-fed foster kittens I agreed to watch as a favor to a dear friend, which I would argue isn’t nearly as bad as a literal eternity of brutal and meaningless labor. Nevertheless, the metaphor feels fitting.

To fit the theme, I decided to make a Greek-inspired pasta salad this week! I wanted something I could prepare in bulk that would keep well in the refrigerator, be ready to eat without heating up and offer a little nutrition during a week when I would be inclined to survive off frozen pizza alone.

This pasta salad fit the goal perfectly. It was super simple to prepare, delicious enough to enjoy day after day, and easy to serve when I found myself too tired to think of or prepare anything else. All I had to do was scoop some into a bowl and enjoy a satisfying and delicious meal, which definitely helped me get through some busy days (and nights, since those five foster kittens need their own food every three to four hours around the clock.)

To make this dish, I started by making a Greek pesto sauce. I threw some basil, dill, mint, lemon, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and the last of a container of feta cheese I had into the blender and pulsed it until everything was evenly ground and resembled a thick sauce. Then I started my pasta water on the stove while I prepped my cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, cannellini beans and red onion. After making my pasta, I tossed it in the sun-dried tomato oil I drained off to keep it from sticking together while it cooled. After everything was cool, I tossed the pasta in the pesto sauce, added all of the chopped vegetables, threw in some arugula and some shaved Parmesan cheese (but if I hadn’t run out of feta, I would have used feta here instead).

While we may not be eternally pushing an actual boulder up a literal hill as punishment for bruising Zeus’ vanity, the seemingly endless toil of daily life can make it hard for us to remember to take genuine care of ourselves. Oftentimes, we tend to put our own needs on the back burner in lieu of others’ – especially us women, who tend to adopt the caretaking roles in life – and it leaves us with little energy to make sure we have what we need. I knew that if I was going to have a chance of making it through this last week, I was going to have to be sure I was caring for myself just as well as I was my five furry dependents (six furry dependents, including my own cat, Sokka), which meant not only heaving the boulder up the hill, but doing my best to find support for the journey, a hint of joy in the labor and, somehow, a sense of humor in the endlessness of it all!

GREEK PESTO PASTA SALAD

Ingredients for the Greek pesto:
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh dill
1/2 cup fresh mint
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the salad:
16 ounces pasta of your choice, cooked and tossed with the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and left to cool
8-ounce container sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces (reserve the oil for the pasta)
12-ounce container marinated artichoke hearts, leaves separated
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
10-ounce container cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 large handfuls baby arugula
8 ounces shaved Parmesan (or more feta)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
■ Add all Greek pesto ingredients to a blender and pulse until evenly ground and resembling a thick sauce (add more olive oil if needed to thin it out).
■ Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions (try to keep the noodles al dente!).
■ Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, transfer it to a large bowl and drizzle the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes over it. Toss to coat and let cool, tossing every few minutes to prevent sticking.
■ While the pasta cools, prepare the vegetables and drain and rinse the beans.
■ Once the pasta has cooled, toss it in the Greek pesto. Then add all of the remaining ingredients and toss to combine evenly.
■ Taste again and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
■ Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. Allow flavors to marinate for an hour or two and enjoy!

Kristin is a Columbus local and a graduate of MUW’s Culinary Arts Program. She lives downtown with her husband Jon and her naughty cat Sokka. In her free time she enjoys baking, making stained glass art and hanging out with her friends. If you see her in town, say hi!