October 25 – World Pasta Day

Here are the goals of World Pasta Day as stated by their website:

• On 25th October of each year, the world over, World Pasta Day is celebrated in the form of events and promotional initiatives in different countries of the world.

• The objective of World Pasta Day is to draw the attention of the media and consumers to pasta. Communication should underline the fact that pasta is a global food, consumed in all five continents, having unquestionable merits, appropriate for a dynamic and healthy life style capable of meeting both primary food requirements and those of high-level gastronomy

• The key messages, recurring in the various communication initiatives, emphasise the economic feasibility, gastronomic versatility and nutritional value of pasta.

(Source: http://www.pasta-unafpa.org/pasta-day.htm)

Here are a few fun Pasta Facts:

• The Chinese are on record as having eaten pasta as early as 5,000 B.C.

• Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. It seems that he fell in love with a certain dish he sampled in Naples, while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. In fact, he promptly ordered crates of "macaroni," along with a pasta-making machine, sent back to the States.

• The Spanish explorer Cortez brought tomatoes back to Europe from Mexico in 1519. Even then, almost 200 years passed before spaghetti with tomato sauce made its way into Italian kitchens.

• The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848, by a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega. Mr. Zerega managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basement to power the machinery. To dry his spaghetti, he placed strands of the pasta on the roof to dry in the sunshine.

• Pasta is a good source of carbohydrates. It also contains protein. Carbohydrates help fuel your body by providing energy that is released slowly over time.

• One cup of cooked spaghetti provides about 200 calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, less than one gram of total fat, no cholesterol and only one gram of sodium when cooked without salt.

Pasta is one of the food groups I very much enjoy. I really love eating plain noodles with nothing on them and I think that noodles are ruined when they have butter all over them. When I was in China in 2003 I witnessed them making noodles and it looked to be very fun! Tiring on the arms after a bit I would think, but really they were just stretching out and throwing around all the dough, I am a fan of anything involving throwing things wildly around and seeing what happens! (This was not the actual picture I took, but exactly what I saw.)

If you would like more information on pasta you can check out the National Pasta Association at http://www.ilovepasta.org/funfacts.html

At this time please enjoy one of my favorite songs...it really combines my love of hippos, pop, singing, the outdoors, friends, and of course PASTA all into one! Enjoy!