Pasta, pasta, pasta!! October is National Pasta Month, now that I live in Italy, the home of the beloved noodle that we know and love, I thought I would tell you a little bit about the fabulous food.

We owe great thanks to the Chinese who are first credited with coming up with pasta around 5,000 B.C. Recently a nearly 6,000-year-old bowl of millet noodles was unearthed in China!

Legend says that Marco Polo brought pasta to Italy. Since then it's been rolled, shaped, pressed, cut, designed, and cooked into over 600 different shapes. Yes, that was SIX HUNDRED! In Italy, the boxes are numbered by shape! Think about that the next time you are going down the pasta aisle and are limited to the much smaller assortment of styles that your store carries.

Now you've got the pasta, what do you do with it?

1. Boil 4 to 6 quarts of water for one pound of dry pasta. (You can divide this recipe depending on how much pasta you are cooking.)

2. Add the pasta with a stir and return the water to a boil.

3. Stir the pasta occasionally during cooking.

4. Follow the package directions for cooking times. If the pasta is to be used as part of a dish that requires further cooking, undercook the pasta by 1/3 of the cooking time specified on the package. The suggested time is VERY helpful in getting perfectly cooked pasta.

5. Taste the pasta to determine if it is done. Perfectly cooked pasta should be "al dente," or firm to the bite, yet cooked through.

6. Drain pasta immediately. Do NOT rinse it!!

Instead of smothering your pasta in a jar sauce, try something new! Get out some fresh veggies, saute' them for a few minutes in EVOO and garlic. Toss with your pasta.

OR:
Mix up your pasta with a few tablespoons of basil pesto and throw in a can of marinated artichoke hearts.

OR:
Drain some black beans, chop up some salami and add to the pasta. Stir in ½ cup of Italian dressing.

Let your imagination go as far as you want, away from that sauce jar, and Buon Appetito!

Host Tisha is a pasta loving Mom of two who is currently living outside of Vicenza, Italy! She and her hunky hubby love to cook and have great pasta meals together and with their kids.