I just can’t believe it!

A day when the entire world has reason to rejoice.

You can probably tell that I like pasta. In actuality, I have never met a pasta I didn’t appreciate.

When it’s served with tomato sauce that’s simmered for hours, or a sauce that’s thrown together in a couple of minutes, it matters not to me.

Even if it’s topped with pesto or merely garlic butter, the meal is unique and deserving of respect.

Yes, pasta is a dish to be enjoyed under any and all conditions.

Can you remember the best pasta meal you have ever had?

I recall a meal in Toronto on Yonge Street in the 1970’s. My client and I were walking down the road looking for somewhere to eat when we smelled the delicious odors wafting from an open doorway. We had no choice but to follow the invitation of smells and partake of the best they had to offer. Their chef used a generous amount of garlic and with the salad, bread, butter and olive oil we consumed our fill, and created memories that resist fading.

Yes, right out of the can, and so many years later I do it less often, but I still consider it a good dish when I am on the run.

In today there are all types of spaghetti using different flour from various grains. For those who are allergic to wheat there is always the rice substitute.

Needless to say, all pasta isn’t spaghetti. There is a seemingly infinite variety of thicknesses and sizes.

There is macaroni, lasagna, and other popular configurations used in various dishes.

During warm weather we enjoy pasta salad, and it’s easy to make.

Yes, most pasta dishes can be made quickly and salad has to be close to the top of the list with some chopped vegetables and a store-bought dressing.

A friend of mine was invited to someone’s home for dinner where spaghetti was served with canned vegetable soup dumped on top. It was an unusual meal, but one that worked for that family.

The pasta historians inform us that it was invented by the Sicilians from the 12th century. I wonder if they ever considered how hot their innovation would become.

It was considered a very simple dish by them, but now with the creation of various sauces its complexity can be high for those with discriminating tastes. I confess an inability to differentiate between a good sauce that takes hours of careful preparation and a mediocre one that is thrown together. I have eaten in some of the world’s finest restaurants, but am unable to adequately distinguish the value of their efforts. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a fantastic sauce, it is just that they taste great to me, and lots of my friends.

So, on this special day, the 25th of October, you can put aside any prerequisites for dieting purposes and enjoy a good helping of pasta-one that will fill your tummy and release endorphins to make the experience memorable.

Pasta Day? Yes!