Originally Posted by Oliver_Wendell_Ramone (Post 532940)

My county is now asking politely that people mask up indoors; work, school, shopping. Not a mandate, but they would sure like it if you complied.

And in other news, I have a cold for the first time in over two years.

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield (Post 532941)

I’ve genetic predisposition to it. When I was young it drove me nuts.

Best advice is stick with unprocessed protein, vegetables, and avoid sugar and complex carbs. That seems to limit it.

Silver lining: It’ll keep you skinny. You’ll never even attempt to put down a bowl of pasta.

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski (Post 532942)

Buy some Tums. Pasta is life.

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane? (Post 532944)

I've gotten colds the entire time? Less frequently though. Maybe I just have allergies.

Originally Posted by LessinSF (Post 532946)

Pasta is death in refashioned flavorless grass. The only thing worse is rice.

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield (Post 532949)

I like pizza. I'll occasionally have that despite paying for it with acid kick-up. But a bowl of spaghetti? It's just bulk carb consumption IMO.

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy (Post 532950)

Put me on Team Hank. Pasta is life.

One thing I don't understand is why more people don't make their own pasta. If you haven't done it, watch a few episodes of pasta grannies and get out your eggs, water, and flour, because homemade pasta is much better than the dried stuff, which can be pretty good itself. And it's really easy.

I will say, though, pasta gets better the farther north you go in Italy. In the south, the fish is the main show, the pasta a (very good) side event. But one taste of pasta with walnut sauce in Northern Italy and every other dish plays second fiddle.

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy (Post 532950)

Put me on Team Hank. Pasta is life.

One thing I don't understand is why more people don't make their own pasta. If you haven't done it, watch a few episodes of pasta grannies and get out your eggs, water, and flour, because homemade pasta is much better than the dried stuff, which can be pretty good itself. And it's really easy.

I will say, though, pasta gets better the farther north you go in Italy. In the south, the fish is the main show, the pasta a (very good) side event. But one taste of pasta with walnut sauce in Northern Italy and every other dish plays second fiddle.

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane? (Post 532951)

I had fisherman's risotto in Positano and it was the best dish I've ever had.

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy (Post 532950)

Put me on Team Hank. Pasta is life.

One thing I don't understand is why more people don't make their own pasta. If you haven't done it, watch a few episodes of pasta grannies and get out your eggs, water, and flour, because homemade pasta is much better than the dried stuff, which can be pretty good itself. And it's really easy.

I will say, though, pasta gets better the farther north you go in Italy. In the south, the fish is the main show, the pasta a (very good) side event. But one taste of pasta with walnut sauce in Northern Italy and every other dish plays second fiddle.

Originally Posted by Icky Thump (Post 532952)

Team veggies and carbs here. I went meat free in December of 2020 and it was the best move ever. For me, bowing down to my craving for carbs -- as long as I am burning them off -- was like coming out of the closet. Once I went vegetarian, a lot of other health issues disappeared.

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield (Post 532954)

When I ate pasta, I recall the fresh made stuff was next level, not even comparable to store bought.

Was supposed to go to Italy just as Covid hit (kinda glad I missed that variant, which wiped out whole towns there). So haven't experienced the fish there, but everyone who has says the same thing as you. I think I could live on Branzino and sauteed (not breaded) calamari alone. It's almost sinful the way American cuisine assumes calamari (and sometimes even octopus... though I feel guilty eating those since we're learning how smart they are) requires breading. Or that shrimp is a delicacy which must be on menus, while calamari is an also-ran than only sometimes qualifies. Calamari sauteed in fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, bit of salt and pepper, and lemon, is one of the best foods in the world.

Originally Posted by LessinSF (Post 532946)

Pasta is death in refashioned flavorless grass. The only thing worse is rice.

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy (Post 532956)

The best place I've been in the US for calamari is Rhode Island. If you ever are in the neighborhood, find the most Italian or Portuguese looking dive you can, head out of Providence or Newport, where most people go, to places like Warwick or North Providence, go in, and order any dish with Calamari other than the Rhode Island Calamari (breaded, greasy, spicy - it's good, but it's not what you are looking for). Or check out the poofy, upscale places in Providence that do coconut calamari or eastern calamari. But really, the whole state is calamari crazy.