Does anyone else go meatless on Fridays? I just made Pasta Aglio e Olio

[LaydeeBug]

and it was awesome. I didn't follow any recipe, but this is a good guide to what I did:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/spaghetti-aglio-e-olio-recipe/index.html

[cbayer]

1. Not particularly on fridays, but we eat less meat all the time.

My husband loves that particular pasta dish, though I prefer a creamy sauce of some sort.

I do remember fridays growing up, though. Fish sticks - ugh.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. No but I love aglio e olio.

I don't use a recipe either and use a TON of garlic and only a small sprinkle of cheese at the table.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I grew up on that

Aglio e olio was a particular favorite comfort food in our house. Quick and soothing.

[Phentex]

4. My mom called it basta bianga...

which is really pasta bianco...which we think of as poor man's pasta, lol.

But yeah, it's still good and still comfort food. It's one of my son's favorite way to eat pasta and pastina.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Pastina!!!!

My mother used to make that by cooking it in chicken bullion (like HerbOx) and using only a little water to wind up with a very thick pasta with a little liquid on it.

The HerbOx was in little foil wrapped cubes. The flavor profile was similar to Lipton's Instant Chicken Noodle Soup. The biggest difference was the pastina in place of Lipton's egg noodles.

edit to add picture:

[Phentex]

6. My grandmother cooked it that way and I always wondered about it...

I learned to cook it with less water (but not bullion) never having to drain it. The water cooked out, you added butter and garlic/parm if you had it and ate it.

My son cooks his like regular pasta that you drain.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. That's the only way we ever cooked it.

If she added it to soup, it was cooked in the soup. The might add water after it was cooked if the soup got too think to suit her.

We also had it cooked in plain water, like cereal, with minimal water, and had it served with milk and sugar!

I haven't had that way in more than 50 years, I'd guess!

Thanks for the memories.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. love pastina. My grandma came straight from the Ukraine, right off the

boat, speaking no English. chicken soup is a staple in eastern europe, --Russia and Poland

When she made it here, she would always get a fresh fowl and use Lipton's soup to flavor it. I still do that...make it and strain the noodles out. It is made from real broth

Wish Lipton's made boullion.

[Callalily]

8. Sounds wonderful . . . I'll have to add it

to my list of recipes to try.

And oh gosh, I do remember meatless Fridays as a kid . . . fish sticks with french fries, or tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were typical menus in those days.

Now I'm mostly meatless all the time!

[pinto]

9. I learned my take from a Sicilian family. About the same, but they added pine nuts (pinoli).

It was basically pasta tossed with olive oil and cheese, very little liquid. They called it macaroni aglio e olio con pinoli.

Toasted garlic (a lot) and pinoli in a good amount of olive oil. Red pepper flakes at the finish. Tossed with the pasta, bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese. Some fresh chopped basil on top.

Simple, fast side dish. The bread crumbs were usually toasted & ground left overs from a loaf, so kind of chunky. Good to soak up the extra oil and hold the whole saute flavors. I make it as a meal on its own a lot of times.

[rhett o rick]

10. I have a similar recipe. We love it. nm

[Alenne]

11. I add parmigiano reggiano and anchovies to mine.

Even my kids love it and they don't even like spaghetti. Of course I don't tell them about the anchovies.