What I’ve learned from years of eating pasta

  1. Some pasta I like cooked to al dente

2. Others I like cooked a minute or two longer

3. 1 and 2 are largely dependent on both the brand and the type (penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, etc.

4. Homemade sauce is always better

5. Most store-bought brands can be improved by adding chopped onions, garlic, and the like

6. When preparing a vodka sauce, Jack Daniels is not an acceptable substitute

7. Although technically speaking, gnocchi is not pasta, it lends itself to almost any recipe that calls for pasta

8. Pasta is very filling, which matters when the refrigerator is almost empty and you forgot to have your roommate take you to the store before he went out of town for the Labor Day weekend and all you have is a box or two of pasta and a couple of jars of sauce

9. Pasta sauce makes a good topping for an omelet or a frittata

10. And as is true with pizza, it’s not justice for breakfast anymore — although it’s also good then

11. Finally, as Homer Simpson was fond of saying about jelly donuts: “Pasta — is there anything it can’t do.

And now you must excuse me. The timer just went off on my pot of penne.

Robyn Sinéad Sheppard

Written by

Genderqueer asexual curmudgeon. She/her/hers. Time-traveler. Essayist. "Ego sum, ergo sum scribere."

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