The Pasta Game

We are playing a game in my host's house, but they don't know it. I personally think that this makes the game more fun. Here is the setup. I live in a house with a group of people that really love pasta. As a matter of a fact, it is not uncommon for us to eat pasta several days in a row. I have no problem with this, carbohydrates are my friends. If I tell myself that over and over again, they will not make me gain weight out of sheer gratitude that I don't hate them like every other female on the planet. My plan- it is genius. 


Anyway, every so often, when there is a load of pasta in the fridge or cupboard, just waiting to be eaten- the lady of the house will make it her mission to cook anything BUT that darn pasta, because as soon as it starts, the Italian trend will keep up for days. For the first half of the week these "avoidance meals" appear to be utterly normal in their culinary makeup, but as the supplies dwindle, things get increasingly... creative. Luckily, three and four year olds will eat nearly anything if allowed to apply their own mayonnaise and ketchup, so the condiments flow like the Amazon at mealtimes here.  I'm not entirely certain that anyone else notices the trend, but for me it has become the pasta game. When I come in from my apartment for lunch I will attempt to discern from the door, without even approaching the table, if we have finally broken and given in to the five-minute simplicity of boxed tortellini- the silent tyranny of ready-made foods, the false allure of three-step cooking. Sometimes we have and other times, we are eating a curious combination of chick-peas, rice, and stewed onions. It's creative! We're setting an example for the children! Be creative, because someday you will be too tired after work to even think about going shopping. As far as I'm concerned, I'm putting aside ideas for when I'm a starving writer. Or, in this case, a not starving one.


Either way, tonight I am cooking.