atlas 180

whole wheat pasta dinner, originally uploaded by organic baker.

dan asked " if you can have anything for your birthday, what would it be?" as quick as lightning i responded "atlas 180!" accompanied with a grin so bright it was crazy bordering on obsessiveness. he thought it was crazy that i can just give him the model number of whatever it was. what in the world is atlas 180 anyways? "oh, that and a thermos. a nice big floral thermos in bright orange or maybe pink or purple that can hold a nice day's worth of tea for me to bring to school." i says. amusement left his eyes and it quickly turned into confusion.

see... a girl needs to know what she wants all the time. before batting an eyelash one should be able to recite the desires of her heart!

true enough. on my birthday, lo and behold! a brand new shiny atlas 180 in a paper bag was waiting to be opened just by me! Lordy lordy lordy! My wish came true!

i tested my pasta machine a few days after my big day. i was extremely happy to mix and knead the dough. i was all the more happier when i hand cranked the machine! then it suddenly dawned on me... i was barely on my teen years when i spent my money on a set of books that were on sale. one was a book about chocolate, one was about cakes, one was about pasta, and the others, oh well... i forgot. while cranking my pasta machine i was transported back in time. every single saturday morning, while waiting for my mommy to fix our breakfast, my brother Cedric would sit on the couch and play with his G.I. Joe toys and I would read the pasta, chocolate and cake books over and over again. all this time, that little girl's dreams were waiting to come true. suddenly i realize, that all of this is a journey. it's not exactly me cooking those dishes or frosting the cupcakes. it's that little girl living her dreams. talk about a girl who asked for a brand new microwave oven for her 10th birthday!

for this dish, i made a whole wheat/durum semolina tagliolini. since the pasta is fresh, it only took about 3 minutes to cook. saute freshly minced garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, add the noodles and steamed broccoli and it is good to go!

amazingly fresh, fast, delicious and healthy!