Monday night pasta

Over the weekend, my older daughter presented me with an annotated list of the types of pasta she currently will and won't eat. With visual aids.  On the yes column: penne, ziti, fusilli.  No: spaghetti, fettucini, lasagna. Since I was rolling out sheets of pasta on my old Atlas machine at the time (which makes the three she doesn't like, but not of course the three she does), this was somewhat disconcerting. (For the record, Isabel ate the ravioli that I gave her.)

So last night I made garganelli, to dry for any future pasta crises -- and just because I'd never done it before. It required that I cut up sheets of pasta into 1 1/2-inch squares, roll them around a pencil and press them into a gnocchi board (right, with garganelli). Time consuming, yes, but fun in a meditative kind of way and a cool way to use an under-utilized kitchen tool (the board, not the pencil). It's a calming activity too, handy if you're watching Monday Night Football or, say, a political debate. And with Tom Brady out for the season and moose-hunting suddenly an acceptable qualification for the vice presidency, occupational therapy is going to be critical in the coming weeks.

Gnocchi board, about $6 at Surfas in Culver City, Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica and various sources online. 

-- Amy Scattergood

(Photo of garganelli pasta and board by Amy Scattergood)