Re:Question of the Week - What kind of pasta do you like?...

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 Question of the Week - What kind of pasta do you like and how do you use it?

 

        I often use angel hair pasta, because it's really quick to cook up.  DH

and I like it with a tomato sauce and (I like with added) shredded Parmesan or

Mozzarella cheese on it.  We just discovered the Quorn brand meatless

meatballs--and last night, in fact, we had a savory tomato sauce with those in

it (browned in a tiny bit of " EVOO " first) with an added pinch of fennel (I love

the taste with " Italian " flavored foods) and parsley.  The sauce had plenty of

basil, oregano, and garlic already in it, and was " from a jar " that I purchased

from Meijer's.  I always add a small can of tomato paste and maybe a little

sweetening to jarred sauces, no matter what kind they are, and I did that to

what I made last night, too.

 

      It all simmered in the crock pot and the sauce went on top of some angel

hair pasta I cooked up FAST right after my DH called and said he'd be home in 10

minutes or less.  He had a quick turn-around to make after his regular day--had

to leave after grabbing a bite to go out of town to two different meetings until

fairly late.  We had a salad with romaine lettuce, a few other raw veggies and a

bit of fruit--that was the meal, and it came together really fast. 

 

     When I'm not pressed for time, I also like to make my own spaghetti sauce. 

I don't always have the fresh tomatoes, so it's not always COMPLETELY from

scratch...But whether or not it's from a jar or from fresh ingredients, I like

to smell and taste lots of different herbs and seasoning flavors in it,

especially basil, garlic, onion, and oregano...a pinch of fennel and rosemary,

parsley...(and mushrooms when I can chop them fine enough that DH doesn't " see "

them readily!  LOL!) 

 

      The " jarred " sauce I found at Meijer's was a happy chance meeting--it

tastes remarkably similar to my " own " recipe I have often made in the crock

pot.  And...the other reason I bought it (I confess!)--I like the nice jar it

comes in--the same shape as all my other " saved " glass jars in my pantry shelves

where I stack up and keep my ever-expanding " collection " of beans, grains,

rices, pastas and other dry foods to make up into soups and such.  Whenever I

find any kind of product (salsa, spaghetti sauce, pickles, you name it) in one

of these peculiarly-shaped jars, I buy it--so I can have yet another empty

storage container when the food is used up from it!

 

     A second close-favorite pasta I like is mostaccioli (spelled?) or (I think

it's slightly smaller in size) penne pasta.  A LONG time ago, I got some

" tomato " pasta that was in the " penne " form--I still have some of it (in one of

those crazy jars!).  Every now and then, some of the pasta finds its way to our

table, either cooked with sauce over it, or baked into layers like lasagne--or

randomly tossed into a pot of soup to " fill it out " a bit.  I like the chewy,

substantial texture of the (usually thicker) mostaccioli and penne--they hold up

well with a good, thick sauce.

 

      Finally, I will also add that I found that cooked Cranberry beans are

REALLY good to add to those seasoned tomato sauces that go on pasta.  Of all the

beans I have tried, this one (cranberry beans) kind seems to go particularly

well with the tomato sauce flavor in Italian dishes.  Otherwise, I wouldn't say

there are many kinds of beans that can blend in so well as these do.  I do

recommend the Quorn ground meatless " meatballs " with tomato spaghetti sauce, as

well; they have an excellent flavor!

 

    --Laura B., in Illinois