Warm pasta and a happy soul

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WARM PASTA & A HAPPY SOUL

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Perhaps I should have been born Italian.

Or maybe have an Italian great-grandmother along the lines of my heritage.

Not just because the boot-shaped Italy boasts amazing views of the Mediterranean sea, or that warmer climate in south Europe and the very alluring way Italians greet you “Buon Giorno” in the morning sweeps you away like the gentle waves of the ocean. And not just because awakening to colourful houses adorning the hills in Cinque Terre makes you feel like you woke up from one dream to another dream.

But really, because of one thing, PASTA.

Have I told you already, how well pasta and I get along?

Yeah, I think I probably have, dozens of times.

Like the time I tempted you with Stewed Beef Fettuccine, then raved about Spring Vegetable & Ham Spaghetti, or whipped up this absolutely delicious Stir-Fried Mediterranean-Inspired Mostacholes..

But it’s like that with things you’re passionate about. You can’t stop talking about it, dreaming about it, immersing yourself in it, and in this case, eating it.

That kinda describes the relationship I have with pasta.

Pasta has a very strong captive hold on me, during the entire year, but particularly in the colder months, during times such as the close of autumn and the harsh, chilly winter, and the break of spring.

It seems to be that when temperatures drop to low extremes, when a thick jacket and woollen socks still cannot erase and defrost the cold you’re feeling, the only antidote to combat it is a large plateful of warm, hot-off-the-stove pasta that melts you from your stomach out.

My love for pasta was first cultivated in the thick winter of 2007, in Mannheim, Germany, and this Italian-origin produce has become an almost-alternative to my first staple love – rice.

I don’t want to sound like a traitor of my Asian roots, but when you’re nowhere near home (which by the way is 30 hours by plane away) and homesickness starts to set in more, and especially during colder, darker months, pasta is a very tempting and comforting lifesaver.

I think that one of the things that really endear me to pasta is the fact that it’s so simple to prepare – any beginner cook can make it, and succeed by a large margin.

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THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS OF COOKING PASTA

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While cooking pasta the other day, I realized how therapeutic it is to know that your dinner will be ready in a few minutes, and all you need to do is wait as the water boils and bubbles softy, steam rising hazily from the pot, where a large, homely amount of pasta awaits you.

From the very beginning when you carefully remove the pasta out of the packet..

To thrusting it into a pot of lightly-salted boiling water..

And then watching the magic take place, as the pasta loses its manufactured rigidity, transforming into soft, long, springy curls..

After which it is ready to be drained..

And then prepared with whichever sauce you fancy.

With the arrival of Autumn and the inevitable cold winter months, pasta will definitely be a large part of my menu, for its warmth, for its comfort, and for its absolute simplicity.

Warm pasta & a happy soul..that’s right for me.