01 Page 8-The Michigan Daily -Weekend etc. - February 6, 1992 The pastabilities continue - with vegetables He sat down on the couch, ner- vously brushing the lint from his necktie. He hadn't worn a tie in a long time, but then again, he hadn't beeni invited over to a woman's apartment for dinner in a long time either. Actually, never. "Would you like some wine?" she said, interrupting his thoughts. "I'd love some," he said. "Can I give you a hand with anything in the kitchen?" "Just relax, " she said as she turned on the stereo and turned down the lights. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Thus begins the second leg of our journey into the wonderful world of pasta. Last time I briefly dis- cussed some techniques for making a great pasta and sauce dinner; this week, we'll look at some different ways to make some interesting al- ternative hot pasta meals guaranteed to impress even that anxious young man in the story above. As I said last week, one of the greatest things about pasta is the in- credible variety of noodles. While it's always important to select the right pasta product for the meal in question, when one is not working with a thick dark sauce, it's critical to use a noodle that looks cool and tastes great. Ziti and rotini are always good choices; the ziti's streamlined shape and pointed ends make any meal look sharp. And squiggly rotini - especially the ones that come with red, green anti white noodles - will dress up any new idea to come out of your kitchen. This column will explore some basic ideas in ,vegetable-pasta com- binations. The pasta and vegetable stir-fry (recipe at right) calls for ziti noodles, but feel free to try something different - this dish would be completely different, but still excellent, with spaghetti or linguine noodles. Some of my best creations with pasta have happened when - for creative and/or practi- cal purposes - I have tried a differ- ent pasta in a traditional dish. The recipe I have featured calls for fresh vegetables. This can pre- sent an obstacle to the inexperienced and practically broke student chef; they both require a lot of prepara- tion - both in cutting and cooking the veggies in question. And in these late winter months, fresh vegeta- bles can be fairly costly. just like your cauliflower. A better technique in preparing these pre-packaged combinations is !FOOD '] FOR THOUGHT BY DAN/EL POUX steaming them. Find a large skillet with steep sides and a tight-fitting lid. Fill it with a half-inch of water, and add a bit of lemon juicew- it gives the veggies a great flavor, and you don't have to salt them. Spread the vegetables around in the skillet, put the top on, and crank up the heat. When you notice that asparagus, but I broadened the spec- trum of ingredients for several rea- sons - most importantly, aspara- gus can be difficult to find and ex- pensive this time of year. Try it with broccoli, cauliflower, mush- rooms, pea pods or zucchini, or a combination of all of these. Be cre- ative. Depending on the vegetables you use, a bottle of white wine or a not- so-dry red - maybe a blush or a Beaujolais - would wash those noodles down very well. If you are under 21, or don't drink wine, then grab a two-liter of Sprite or Faygo Rock-and-Rye. If it's meant to happen, then the blood alcohol content of the couple in question should have little effect on the outcome. One could serve French or Italian bread with this dish, but the pasta is already a big source of carbohy- drates, so you really don't need it. And since it features lots of veggies, a salad or side dish would be superfluous. Use your own judgment, and let me know what you come up with. Well, I've done all I can; the rest is up to you. Just remember - re- lax, and be yourself. I'm sure that she was very impressed that you PASTA AND VEGETABLE STIR-FRY 4 cups uncooked pasta (ziti or rotini look great, but feel free to experiment) 4 cups vegetables of your choice (broccoli, mushrooms, pea pods, etc.) 1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper Prepare pasta as directed on container. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in skillet, and season with garlic. After garlic has been sauteing for a minute, add vegetables in order -crunchy ones like broccoli first, so they can cook for awhile, then the softer ones, like mushrooms, that only need a few minutes. When vegetables are finished, toss together with pasta and all other ingredients in a shallow bowl. Garnish with parsley flakes, lemon wedges, or maybe some thin slices of peppers. While it's always important to select the right pasta product, when one is not working with a thick dark sauce, it's critical to use a noodle that looks cool and tastes great. wore a tie. He tore a chunk of French bread from the loaf; and wiped the last of the olive oil sauce from his plate. "That was incredible," he said. "I ate so much, I don't-think I can move." "You better be able to move, be- cause you're doing the dishes, " she said with a smile. He laughed as he went into the kitchen, rolling his sleeves up. Things were really going great. He turned the hot water on, and began to scrub the plates and silverware. "The dishes can wait," she said, as she walked up behind him in the cramped kitchen. She put her hands ' on his shoulders, turned him around, and kissed him hard on the mouth. The embrace continued, as the sink slowly overflowed, and the soapy water began to drip onto the floor. ' f Y .' III ODa :J% ']06f L6.3f C There are ways to get around this dilemma, however. The packages of "Oriental" or "California" mixed vegetables in the grocery store's frozen foods section are fairly good substitutes. These mixes are pretty cheap, and recent nutritional re- search has indicated that the flash- freezing procedure that these com- panies use ensures that these vegeta- bles retain most of their vitamins and nutrients. One word of caution, however. Unless you like your broccoli flow- erettes soggy and flavorless, make sure you don't overcook them. Boiling them in a large pot usually means that the veggies lose most of their good flavors and colors, and you end up with your carrots tasting steam is escaphng from under the lid, turn off the stove and let the veg- etables steep for a few minutes. The vegetables will be hot and cooked just enough so that they are crunchy but not raw. 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