Tradition Tuesday

Let me introduce you to PASTA!

A staple and longstanding tradition in our family, pasta never fails us. I want to share with you a little history I learned and see if you learn something new too. I will also share some tips on how to cook pasta to perfection! 

What do you think of when I say, Pasta? Spaghetti and meatballs? Thai curried noodles? Comforting macaroni and cheese? Raviolis? Where would we be without pasta? Available in a multitude of shapes—and made from wheat, rice, corn, beans, and a host of lesser known grains and vegetables— this simple food has been a staple in almost every major cuisine for millennia.
In fact, did you know that pasta existed in Italy before Marco Polo made his famous journey to China? And there's even archeological evidence that noodles existed in China about 4,000 years ago.
THANKFULLY, Spanish colonists brought pasta to the U.S. But it wasn't until the large immigration by Italians in the last half of the 19th century that pasta gained popularity. By the 1920's, pasta was a comfort food throughout America.

My favorite variation:

Whole wheat pasta: This tasty pasta choice offers optimum nutrition and rich, nutty flavor that stands up to robust sauces. Since production varies, if your first experience with whole grain pasta doesn't meet expectations, try another brand before giving up on this wholesome pasta choice. You can even start out using half regular and half whole wheat and slowly add more or the whole wheat until you and your family is used to the healthier taste.

Al Dente: Making Pasta Perfect

There's more to cooking pasta than tossing it in the pot. Perfectly cooked pasta is al dente, an Italian term referring to well-cooked pasta's still toothsome nature. (In other words, most folks prefer pasta with a bit of texture left, in lieu of boiling it until it's completely soft.)
If you want to learn to think outside the box (that is, without the directions off of the bag of pasta), here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Use a big enough pot. Pasta can expand in volume up to three times its original size, so be sure to make room.
• Use lots of water—at least 2 quarts for each ½ pound of pasta.
• Season pasta's cooking water generously with salt. (Don't worry, it won't all soak into the pasta. A generous amount of salt will simply yield more savory, flavorful results when the pasta is cooked.)
• Stir often to make sure that the pasta doesn't stick together.
• Test for doneness early and often. Basically, you want the pasta to feel firm and slightly resistant (almost springy) when you bite into it. If it sticks to your teeth when you chew it, it's not ready. Oh, and resist the temptation to throw spaghetti at the wall to see if it will stick. As much fun as that may be, it doesn't tell you anything useful about the state of your noodles.
• Remember that pasta will continue to cook after it is drained so you should stop cooking thin pastas like vermicelli just before it reaches the al dente stage. The same is true for pasta that will be baked with a sauce such as lasagna.
• Don't rinse your pasta after it's been drained. You'll risk losing the flavorful starches that will help sauces cling to it later.
• Most Asian pasta can be cooked much like dried Western pasta. The exceptions are noodles made from a base ingredient other than wheat or buckwheat, such as cellophane noodles. Unlike Western noodles, Asian noodles are rinsed with cold water and drained after cooking to remove the starch.

I would like to invite you to email me your favorite pasta recipes. I would love to try them and honor you on Tradition Tuesday. 

Tradition Tuesday