Pasta day!

It’s just another normal day for our family. But just to break that monotony, I cooked pasta (we really prefer rice). But to make it a little exciting for my kiddo, I used a fusilli noodle or it can be a rotini noodle – honestly, it’s really confusing, I prefer to call it “twirly noodles” – rather than the normal long ones we use (is that angel’s hair noodle?). I also dyed the noodle to make more enticing to eat.

I really like to make a rainbow colored pasta, but as soon as my daughter saw what I was trying to do, she continually asked for the spaghetti so I ended up using just the pink and blue. And just in case you want to know how to dye your pasta, its actually pretty simple.

Put water, oil ( I used 1 tbsp. for 1 kilo pasta), a pinch of salt and the food color of your choice in a pot. Bring water to a boil then add the pasta. Stir from time to time until the pasta is “al dente”.

Making a rainbow colored pasta is pretty laborious, but hey!, I’m not about to do it everyday right? And I think the look on your kid’s face (and the dad’s face too!) makes the effort worth it.

I also cooked chicken macaroni soup (one of my daughter’s favorite) using the same noodle, perfect for the cloudy weather.

mixed seafood

Thinking what to eat everyday has been a dilemma for me and I know some people can relate. But since I have mouths to feed, sometimes you just have to invent a few. Here’s one of mine.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo mussels

1/2 kilo shrimp

1/2 kilo squid

1 green bell pepper

250 ml tomato sauce

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 medium sized red onion

salt and pepper to taste

• Boil mussels in 1 cup of water. Cook until mussels have opened and set aside.
• Saute garlic,onion and bell pepper in a pan.
• Add tomato sauce, mussels broth, salt and pepper. Simmer until flavors blend.
• Add the shrimp and squid, wait till its cooked.
• Add mussels,stir slightly and serve.
• You can also put steamed crab if you prefer.

Bon Appetit!