"Fusion Cuisine"- Chinese Vegetable Pasta

"Fusion Cooking/Cuisine" is created sometimes....for 'innovation' and sometimes just for 'convenience'.
The examples of "Convenience Fusion Cooking" will be -using Wonton wrappers/Pie crust to make Samosas, using Ricotta cheese to make Pedhas, using Spaghetti to make Chinese Noodles etc etc....
We learn to create and work with whatever ingredients we have...and make something that we have either never eaten before or make something we always make but with just.... new ingredients.
One of my friends, who is actually not very much into 'cooking' makes this "Poha Pasta"! What he does is....he makes the recipe for the Poha with onions, mustard,cumin,turmeric etc..but adds cooked pasta instead of Poha!And it tastes good! Another recipe I read was about using 'macaroni' in daal to make the typical Maharashtrian 'Varan Phala".How innovative is that!
So....this weekend was 'Childrens Day"...November 14.There was a party for this occasion and we all were supposed to bring in something for lunch.I was wondering what to make...what kids will like...etc etc.
I was planning to make Chinese fried rice (because kids usually like the 'mild flavors" and colorfull veggies in this rice), but got to know that 3 other people were making some kind of rice as well. Then I thought,why not make Chinese Pasta???  Kids love pasta......and it will have all the flavors/sauces/ingredients of Chinese fried rice and the same colorfull veggies! Also, at social occasions eating in paper plates,with plastic spoons, holding the plate in one hand and eating.....it becomes hard to tackle foods like Noodles or Saucy curries/ Gravies etc. Short cut pastas( like Rotini/Fusili,Penne etc) done relatively 'unsaucy'....work, in my opinion, best.Everyone(including kids) can enjoy eating those with a fork without much hassle. Here is the recipe for my "Chinese Pasta" .I did exactly everything as I would do for 'Vegetable Fried Rice"....but added Pasta instead of rice.That was it ....the marriage of Italy and China for 'my convenience'!
Ingredients:
3 cups Short Cut Pasta of your Choice(I like Rotini because of its shape)
1/4cup Onion cut into bite size pieces
1/4cup Green Pepper
1/4cup Red Bell Pepper
1/4cup Carrots
1/4cup Broccoli
1tbsp Corn kernels
1tbsp Green peas
1tbsp Green onion leaves/spring onions for garnish
1/2tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/2tsp Soy sauce
1/2tsp Hot and sweet sauce
1/4tsp ground chili paste
1/4tsp black pepper
1/4tsp sugar
2tsbsp Roasted Cashews
salt
oil

Method:
1) Boil pasta in salted water till cooked (about 10 mins).Drain and keep aside.
2) In a Wok or big pan, heat some oil, add the ginger garlic paste and all the veggies.Saute for 2 mins on high flame.This will help in keeping the veggies 'crisp' and not soggy.
3) Add the cooked pasta,all the sauces,spices and mix.
4) Turn off the flame and garnish with spring onions and roasted cashews.
5) Enjoy the Chinese Flavored pasta warm or at room temp!

"Everyday Cooking"- Pasta al forno in bianco

Baked Pasta in White Sauce-Spinach Alfredo pasta with tomatoes

Two Spinach Dishes in a row? Yes....you guessed it right....I had quite a lot of Spinach in the refrigerator that needed to be used up! So, day before yesterday I made the Spinach Wheat dosa and yesterday this pasta.

Pasta is often considered as 'comfort' food for many people.And to tell you the truth....it is becoming so... to me as well. Especially, creamy hot pasta.....right out of the oven..with cheese bubbling all over it..nice golden crust...ohhh my..what can be more comforting???It's almost as comforting as 'Varan Bhat' (Maharashtrian yellow daal and rice)..except for few extra calories!!

It was not the case earlier though when I first came to USA.It took a while for me to 'develop' a taste for 'white sauce' based pasta.It was too cheesy and bland for my taste.But when I started to make it myself....it was much better.I could alter the ingredients as I wanted..change it to suite our taste. One more reason to like this pasta was that ....we got 'addicted' to Papa Johns 'Spinach Alfredo Pizza' sometimes with chicken and tomatoes..sometimes just plain. This Pasta comes close to those pizza toppings and has become one of our family favorites. I have shared this pasta with some friends and they instantly became fans too!

Ingredients:
1 lb Pasta -
(Any kind like Ziti, Penne etc. I personally like Rotini because it can hold more sauce in it's ridges)
Shredded cheese-
(Either Italian blend of Parmesan, mozzarella, asiago. Or Just Mozzarella or pepper jack -1 block or 1 medium size bag
Whole milk (about 2 -3 cups) -little more may be needed
Spinach finely cut (2 cups)
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Black pepper (1/4th tsp)
Nutmeg (2 pinches)
Salt
Butter (2tsp)
Flour (2tsp)
Chili powder
Ketchup (2tsp)
Tomato slices (10-12)
Red chili flakes
Italian seasoning (rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil) -1/4th tsp

Method:
1) Cook the pasta in boiling water+salt, till al dente. Drain and keep aside.
2) To make sauce- Melt butter in a pan. Add finely crushed garlic, and flour. Fry for a minute or two.
3) Add spinach, fry for couple mins. Then add the milk. Keep stirring till the mixture comes to a boil and thickens like a paste. Add salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, nutmeg, chili powder to suit your taste. Add the ketchup and stir.
4) To the above sauce, add the cooked pasta, 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Stir well. If the pasta looks dry, add more milk to the sauce. The pasta should have enough sauce.
5) Preheat the oven to 375 F. Transfer the pasta to the buttered baking tray. Sprinkle with 1/4th cup of milk. Put the round tomato slices on top of the pasta. Layer with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle red chili flakes and black pepper on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for about 20 mins till cheese melts.
6) Remove the foil. Transfer to the broiler (heat should be from the top) till the cheese browns up a little bit (will take only about 2-4 mins), so that it forms nice crust on top.
7) Remove, serve hot
8) Enjoy!

Tip: You can also add chicken pieces to the pasta to make ‘Chicken Alfredo’ like pasta