Give a Cow a Day Off

Roughly a month ago I received a very nice email from Megan telling me about the Ronzoni "Give a Cow a Day Off" campaign in support of the new Ronzoni Smart taste pasta. Smart Taste pasta that contains as much calcium as a glass of milk, and because of that cows can take a day off.

There is a pretty funny web site for the campaign as well as a Youtube clip. Megan was also nice enough to send me a box of Ronzoni pasta and a recipe to give the new stuff a twirl-

Having a soon to be 5 year with a huge hunger for pasta, the appeal of her getting more calcium is very important to us, so I was willing to try it out.

The recipe is simple enough-

ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO, SPINACH AND ASIAGO PASTA
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt and pepper 1 bag baby spinach leaves, about 4 cups
1 pkg. RONZONI® SMART TASTE™ Thin Spaghetti 1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese (approx.)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley Toasted pine nuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss the tomatoes with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
Spread the tomatoes on a foil-lined, baking sheet.
2. Roast the tomatoes for 20 to 30 minutes or until shriveled and lightly browned. Scrape the tomatoes and juices into a
large bowl. Add the spinach.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to package directions.
4. Toss the pasta with the spinach, roasted tomatoes, Asiago and basil. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts (if using).
Serve with additional cheese on the side.

The only hard part about the recipe is that the smell of the balsamic vinegar drives the sou chef out of the kitchen and I really enjoy having her in there to help me out.

easy to recognize box

the stinky tomatoes roasting away ( I actually like the smell)

the whole combo mid toss

ready to go with a spoon and fork

So the conclusion? I would give both the pasta as well as the recipe two hooves up. Get it! "Give a Cow a Day Off" and two hooves up!!! Stop me now!

Seriously though, the pasta tastes the same which to me is a big deal. We tried the Barilla Whole Grain pasta but gave it up since it never seemed al'dente. The Ronzoni cooked up the same way and had the same feel in the mouth. Seems like a no brainier to me.