Buckwheat noodles (makaron gryczany): pasta review

I've been remiss about posting lately— dealing with tax forms in Polish will do that!— and to relax, I've fallen on two good standbys: grocery shopping and trying a new kind of pasta. Buckwheat, a grain that gets quite fluffy when cooked, is a lot more popular in Poland than in the U.S. I've been...

Halloween pasta

This is, hands down, my favorite holiday— and I like giving as many things as I can a Halloween-y touch. Costumes, spooky things, candy— and of course, the proper colors. So, here are reviews of two pastas, which when combined, make the perfect Halloween noodle dish. First up is Tolerant red lentil penne pasta, which...

Michigan & midwest made gluten-free noodles

This will likely be my last noodle review for a while— and this time, I’m writing about locally made gluten-free pasta. I spotted Mrs. Glee’s gluten-free bean noodles at the Ypsilanti Food Co-Op. As a lot of noodles are just empty carbohydrates, Mrs. Glee’s are different— with 8 grams of protein a serving, they’re actually...

Red rice noodles: a review, and life contemplation

When my life gets complicated, my recipes tend to get simpler— steamed veggies, tofu and pasta have been go-to items recently. Which is likely why so many of my posts have been product reviews— my creative energies feel a little spent right now. My last semester of grad school at Eastern Michigan has turned into...

Eating soba with confidence

I first tasted soba noodles in Chicago, looking for vegetarian options at a sushi restaurant. Served chilled, with green onions and a savory dipping sauce, soba has a stronger flavor than plain old wheat or rice pasta. They’re made with buckwheat, a grain that’s actually not related to wheat at all— hooray the accuracy of...

Rice, corn and quinoa noodles: notes on gluten-free pasta

I love, love, love noodles— and fortunately, one of my favorite types are rice noodles. Bowls of noodle soups are one of my guilty pleasures. When navigating the gluten-free pasta aisle, the choices can be overwhelming— and expensive.When I first went gluten-free, I stuck to rice noodles: simple, inexpensive and tasty. I have been branching...