this 'n' that & omg pasta

Because my mind is going numb from some office work, I decided to pop over here and look at referrals. And lo, I discovered another local food blog, omg Pasta. Funny because I have gained a renewed interest in pasta since getting the pasta roller attachments for the mixer. And because last night, Claudia of cook eat FRET was telling me about a recent article she read comparing major brands of dried pasta. Don't mean to spoil it for you, but the winner was Trader Joe's. Like, over those fancy-pants brands. But the were comparing spaghetti, and frankly, I can't remember the last time I had plain ol' spaghetti. I usually opt for whole wheat or Jerusalem artichoke flour spaghetti because I want my pasta to fight with me as I eat it (it gives me the primal satisfaction that omnivores must derive from eating critters). Anyhoo.

So this weekend, I'm going to try some more pasta. The last attempt (with all whole wheat flour) has yielded a dough that I will reserve for lasagna noodles. I am now armed with King Arthur all-purpose flour and plan to get wild with it. We're talking flavored linguines and some mezzalunas filled with whatever I can find that's interesting.

While I was going through my referrals, I noticed one from the Whole Foods blog. Turns out, they're having a contest for Bonnaroo tickets among those who comment with their favorite festival foods. And Chris Houchens, marketing expert, marketing blogger and all-around nice guy gave me a shout-out for my review of festival food last year. I said I wasn't going to go back to Bonnaroo this year unless the dead Beatles were resurrected and re-formed to perform only Paul McCartney and Wings songs, but the second best thing, The Beastie Boys will be there and so will I. From the looks of the Whole Foods blog, there will be even more vegetarian/healthy eating options, so that makes me happy. Will I still have five or more arepas? You betcha. Despite the fact that the boss gave me special cornmeal needed to make arepas. It sits, well-preserved and unopen at the back of the fridge. Because apparently, preparation requires special instructions. Perhaps I need to search the YouTube for that.

And an update on the gourd outside the office--it's getting a bit rounder and a few of the ladies around here say that mulch in question was relocated from a spot where they believe a pumpkin was discarded after Halloween last year. Hrm. I hope that means we'll have a harvest of jack-o-lanterns instead of toxic zucchinis!