Fettuccine with Pesto Sauce

I really like Pasta! As does my daughter, who asks for either a mac and cheese or Alfredo every other day. Pasta with pesto sauce or Puttanesca are my favourites. Ever since I started growing herbs, I make my pesto with homegrown basil. I made some yesterday and decided to post my version on Pasta with Pesto. Ananya loaded her plate with grated cheese and insisted I only post that picture, so try to look for the pasta beneath the cheese!

Fettuccine with Pesto

Dried pasta- any shape

Pesto sauce as required(recipe below)

1/2 cup chopped veggies- onion, peppers, broccoli, etc

sliced olives, grated cheese -to garnish

Cook pasta as directed. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add onions, peppers and saute for a couple of minutes. Add pesto sauce and cooked pasta. Mix well and garnish.

For Pesto Sauce

2 tbsp pine nuts (chilgoza), if not available, use walnuts

5-7 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 small bunch Italian basil

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp grated cheese - I usually use either cheddar or Parmesan, which are easily available

salt to taste

Grind all above ingredients coarsely in a food processor or mixie, if its difficult to grind, add a tbsp of milk to thin it down. This freezes well for 4-5 days,if doing so omit milk and cheese.

Goan Holiday

We are back from our short family vacation to Goa. Or rather, to the Club Mahindra Resort at Varca Beach.

Oddly, in spite of having lived in Bombay for 20 years, I hadn't ever been on a Goan vacation. Last week was a nice timeout from the regular monotony of our busy and active life. And Ananya got enough time with just the two of us. The last time she had that luxury was during our London trip in August 2006- which we all really enjoyed, but more about that in some later blog.

We have had the Club Mahindra membership for over 5 years but just got around to using it. And I must say, we were pleasantly surprised. The resort is, as are most of their other resorts, quite a distance away from the city centre (about 30 kms from the Airport). While this distance doesn't in any calculation, seem far off, it is when considering nearby amenities and infrastructure. The resort is a haven for holidaying groups of families and a definite no-no for couples looking to spend some quiet time together in a romantic environment. They have a couple of big nice swimming pools, with a lot of space segregated for toddlers and young children to splash about, which is what Ananya did most of the time.

For Jin and me, the highlight was the very brief jet ski ride available on the beach nearby. Half a minute after I got one, after a lot of misgiving, we rode into the biggest wave ever and I was sure that was it for me! Miraculously, the guy driving the scooter held on to the handlebars and successfully steered us into the next big wave. Thankfully I was too busy hanging on to the scooter for dear life, else I would have started blabbering about wanting to get back to the safe and solid shore that seemed to be getting further away from me. However, I survived the experience and I loved it. There is something amazing about being right in the middle of the deep blue sea and nothing else around. I can't wait to do that again sometime.

We also visited the Shantadurga temple- why is it that there is someone in the family (in this case, my mom) who manages to influence a mandatory visit to a temple? My mom had gone to this temple before Ananya was born and made this "vaenduthul" for her safe birthing. This temple is quite old, but what's interesting is that the temple architecture has the look of an old church.

I really wanted to visit the Anjuna flea market that I heard and read so much about, but apparently that is only open between November and April. Bummer!!Maybe next time.

Comfort food time. Plain old yummy mac-n-cheese, that can be dished up in no time at all.

Mac and Cheese

1 cup shell pasta- I used Fettucine here, though its usually macaroni if its just for Ananya
1 cup milk
3 tbsp grated cheese- I usually use a mix of cheddar and Parmesan
Salt n Pepper to taste

Boil macaroni as per package instructions. Just before you drain it, heat milk in a shallow pan till hot. Add the drained pasta, reserving a bit of water for later. Once you have mixed the pasta and milk, slowly add the cheese and pepper. Voila! Before serving garnish with a little more cheese and parsley. On days I want to add veggies and make it a healthy meal, I steam broccoli, peas, carrots and add them along with the pasta and increase the amount of milk used.

My mom used to make a nice and flavourful Indian version of macaroni with garlic, onion, capsicum, tomatoes and regular spices. And we, my sis and I, really loved it.