Versatile pasta - side dish or main course

This week I discovered that pasta has 2 celebrations: National Pasta Day in the U.S. and World Pasta Day in the European Union.  (What about the rest of the world?  And why not merge the celebrations into 1 day? All good questions, but for another time.)  No matter, I've got 2 takes on pasta for you - the first today and the second on Friday.  Even if they are just kernels of inspiration rather than real recipes in the traditional sense, they can help pull you out of a pasta rut. Today's take is an orzo side dish and Friday's is a quick tomato-based sauce for main course pasta.  Both are vegetarian, but you can eat the first with poultry, meat or fish and add chopped meat to the second.  The bottom line is that pasta is versatile. 

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Pasta myths and tips in honor of National Pasta Day

Today (October 17th) is National Pasta Day in the U.S.  In honor of pasta, one of my favorite foods, here are my answers to several pasta myths and my 5 top pasta tips.  Wednesday, I'll head into a few of my favorite ways to use Italian-style pasta.  If you're a fan of Jerusalem (or Israeli) cous cous - a pasta, not a grain - or lo mein, those will get equal time at a future date.  But this week I'm into cooking Italian pastas.

Pasta myths - and the truth about pasta

Myth: Marco Polo brought pasta to Italy from China.

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Meal planning rule #2 – plan the meal, not just the dish

Remember the meal preparation rules we started a while back?  We're at rule #2 by my count.  If you lost track, here's the list and rule #1. 

I’m a big fan of holistic thinking – in food as well as medicine.  To me, dishes that you'll eat and look at together, should be planned together.  A one-dish meal avoids planning multiple dishes, but woman (or man) can’t live on chili or stew alone. Besides, even they go better with bread and a side dish or salad. 

What does it take to put a bunch of dishes together into a satisfying meal?

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