I’ve never been the biggest fan of pasta (cue screams of horror from right-thinking people everywhere.) Oh sure, I’ll eat it if Mario Batali is preparing it, but the standard home pasta dish of noodles and red sauce is a total snoozefest for me. I think it’s a texture thing – too much sameness, and it’s almost never my first choice of what to have for dinner.
I’ll make an exception though, for some good ravioli or tortellini, particularly if they’re sauced in something a bit saucier than tomato sauce from a jar, like this unusual pesto, and even more particularly if they’re tarted up with some crispy roasted potatoes to add a little flavor and texture variation. And if you think that potatoes and pasta together is an absolutely decadent carbfest then you would be correct.
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Entries from April 10th, 2009
Pasta Redeemed – Tortellini with Potatoes and Mint Pesto
April 10th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Main Dishes, Quick, Recipes, Spring, Vegetarian
Tags: mint·pasta·pesto·Vegetarian
Carrot Pudding for Fussy Eaters
April 10th, 2009 · 11 Comments · Baked Goods and Desserts, Make Ahead, Recipes, Vegetables and Sides
When I was pregnant with the Nuni, I ate prodigiously of a wide variety of foods. I have read that the mother’s diet can be “tasted” by the baby, and babies develop a preference for the familiar (supposedly to protect their delicate systems from the danger of eating an unrecognized foodstuff. Of course, anyone who has ever had a baby knows this is a load of hooey, because there is nothing that babies like to eat more than something that is clearly not food, be it crayons, paper, or random bits of crap they find on the floor.) I figured that the Nuni would develop an early love for Indian food, for Brussels sprouts, for roasted peppers, and that MY daughter would not, in fact, be a picky eater.
Apparently, this strategy tanked. My skinny toddler failed to get the memo regarding the Brussels sprouts (though apparently the mint chip ice cream stayed with her) because what she really likes to eat is sweets. (Yes, she will in fact, taste the Indian food, or even the roasted peppers, but the thing she is most likely to attack with gusto is dessert in its many forms.)
I am left with the classic mother’s dilemma – how do I get my kid to eat (ideally some vegetables, and maybe some milk) without loading her up with sugar? I have two words: Carrot pudding.
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