[1] We couldn’t find a way to kill a kitchen insect, so we finally bought a Venus flytrap (photos #1 to #5 © Rocket Farms).

[2] The inside of the traps are red, luring insects and making them more attractive houseplants.

[3] Uh oh.

[4] Gotcha!

[5] Baby flytraps growing in a Rocket Farms greenhouse.

[6] Maroon Monster, a special cultivar of Venus flytrap. You can purchase it from Carnivorous Plant Resource.

Many people may be used to having insects in their homes. We’re not. We live on the thirty-third floor of a sterile apartment building. The windows may not be hermetically sealed, but there are good screens to keep out insects when we have the windows open. So when a flying insect appeared in our kitchen 9 months ago, we were outraged. “You don’t pay rent here,” we screamed. “Get out!”

Alas, the bug was deaf to our entreaties.

It was not a housefly; we can say nothing more than it was a “small flying insect.”

Many times it flew past our face, flaunting itself. Our quick reaction, aiming to crush it between our palms, was not quick enough.

So we headed to the hardware store, to purchase flypaper. Result: unsuccessful.

Since the flypaper came in three rolls, we took the next two months to install a roll in a different room. But the bug did not stick to our plan.

We knew that flying insects do not have long lifespans. Should we just wait for this one to die?

Six months later, we were still waiting. We checked exterminator websites.

“Most bugs have pretty short lifespans,” said one. “Mosquitoes and gnats live for about a week. Houseflies live about 28 days.”

Fruit flies (which ours was not) live 40 to 50 days.

Why was our tormentor still alive, month after month?

We went back online and got this suggestion: Mix equal parts vinegar and dish soap in a bowl, then leave it out in a place where you see flies frequent the most. The vinegar will attract the flies while the dish soap will trap them.

No such luck.

Then we thought to lay out some honey. After all, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, right?

Wrong.

We realized our good fortune: that the bug did not bite, it did not hatch any eggs in our apartment, and we had no other, even less desirable, insect residents. But we were still affronted by that flying so-and-so’s will to live in a space to which it had no entitlement. A winged squatter.

One day, it hit us: a Venus flytrap.

“The world-renowned Venus Flytrap is the most spectacular example of carnivorous plants thanks to the dramatic manner in which it catches its prey,” we read on the website of Rocket Farms nursery. “Being one amongst the small number of plants capable of very rapid movement, it can snap shut to catch even the fastest of insects; a feat beyond even most people.”

The plant attracts small insects with its sweet-smelling nectar, then snaps shut on them and digests them.

That must be our solution. But where does one purchase a Venus flytrap? Not at any flower shop in our town.

We looked online and found some at Rocket Farms.

Despite the imagination that might evoke Audrey II from Little Shop Of Horrors, Venus flytraps are attractive plants.

The ones sold by Rocket Farms are baby flytraps: adorable when young, and no doubt beautiful when they grow larger. Assuming we can keep ours alive. We have the black thumb of death.

Since we can’t even keep a basil plant alive, imagine our terror when dealing with a sensitive plant that needs:

 
So, did the flytrap eat our insect?

Alas, no. We had ideal light. We bought the distilled water, the fertilizer, and a little pan to fill with distilled water (the flytrap absorbs water through its roots).

A month later, the little bugger was still flying around. Our guess is that our flytrap was still too small to work its magic. But there’s a happy ending.

One day as we stood in the kitchen with our housekeeper and the insect flew past us, we lunged for it. As usual, it was too fast.

But an hour later, the talented Fabiola came into my home office to show me her prize. She had killed pest! Huzzah!

Don’t let that stop you from buying a Venus flytrap. If you have a green thumb, head to Rocket Farms and buy a few.

There are more exotic color varieties, including Maroon Monster, Purple Ambush, and Red Dragon.

Venus flytraps also eat crawling insects. In their native habitat, Venus flytraps don’t often capture flies, but feast upon many kinds of crawling insects, including beetles and ants.

And they’re so much more interesting than succulents!

Here’s more interesting information we dug up about Venus flytraps.

TRIVIA: Venus flytraps are native to only a small area of the coastal plain in North and South Carolina. There are 66 species of carnivorous plants in the U.S., and an astounding 36 of them live in North Carolina. What’s up?

Acidic soils, low nutrients, and a high water table provide excellent habitat for carnivorous plants to thrive [source].

We’ve been loading up on pasta recipes since October is National Pasta Month. It’s as good an excuse as any to try more recipes. We were charmed at the idea of Grown-Up SpaghettiOs in this recipe from DeLallo (yes, SpaghettiOs is the proper spelling—no hyphen, no apostrophe). SpaghettiOs was created to make dinner easier for parents, with cans of ring-shaped pasta pieces in tomato sauce. Just heat and eat! The brand markets it as “less messy” than regular spaghetti (and in fact, it is, scooping up the Os and sauce in a spoon, as opposed to twirling spaghetti and spattering or dripping the sauce).

Television ads used the tagline, “the neat round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon.” And we still spontaneously break out into the jingle, “Uh-Oh! SpaghettiOs.”

More than 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold each year. Current options include the original plus versions with alphabet letters, franks, meatballs, calcium-fortified spaghetti, and popular characters: Disney Princess, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Super Mario, Bros. Here’s the brand’s website.

A bit of history: Tinned spaghetti—cut into short lengths, in tomato sauce—was available long before rings were introduced. In fact, it was first produced in New Zealand in the 1930s, along with tinned macaroni. It was probably the only type of pasta regularly eaten by New Zealanders until the 1950s, when a greater variety of pasta started to be consumed [source].

The ring-shaped SpaghettiOs were introduced in 1965 by the Campbell Soup Company, under its Franco-American brand. The Os were so popular with kids, that other companies rapidly produced their own spaghetti rings.
 
 
RECIPES: GROWN-UP SPAGHETTIOS (DITALINI & MEATBALLS)

Here’s a recipe that combines childhood nostalgia and a grown-up palate. The recipe uses ditalini, the smallest tubes pasta, often called thimble-sized. It is used in macaroni salad instead of elbows. Ditali were created in Apulia sometime during the industrial age (1760 to 1830), when developments in manufacturing engendered more short-cut pasta types.

While DeLallo used ditalini instead of rings (photo #1), you can find ring-shaped pasta from Ronzoni (photo #3), or anelli (“rings” in Italian) imported from Italy (photo #4).

Personally, for both nostalgia and food fun, we’d make the switch to rings (photo #2). And we’d buy imported anelli that’s cut with bronze die (photo #5).

Why? Pasta makers can cut and shape their noodles old-style, with a traditional bronze die. It takes more time than a modern Teflon die.

Bonze die-cut pasta creates noodles that have a slightly rough surface. This rough surface helps sauce and other ingredients stick to the noodles, so you get sauce and noodles in every bite.

Pasta cut with a Teflon die, on the other hand, results in slick, nonstick noodles. The sauce and ingredients slide right off, into the bottom of the bowl or plate.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COOK the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. PURÉE the tomatoes in a food processor and set them aside.

3. HEAT the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the meatballs and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

4. ADD the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. STIR in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the paprika and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant.

6. ADD the sugar, basil, and reserved tomato purée. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced and flavors have melded, about 20 minutes.

6. ADD the meatballs and excess juices to the tomato sauce. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through. Add pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA
 
> THE HISTORY OF PASTA

[1] Grown-up SpaghettiOs recipe from DeLallo (recipe and photo © DeLallo).

[2] A recipe with anelli and passata (tomato purée). Here’s the recipe (photo © Cooking With Nonna).

[3] Substitute ronzoni rings for the ditalini (photo © Ronzoni).

[4] We prefer to spring for imported Italian pasta. You can buy these online (photo © La Molisana).

[5] San Marzano tomatoes are the most delicious for sauces. If you can’t find them locally, their available online. These are from DeLallo (photo © DeLallo).

[1] Pumpkin manicotti: comfort food for fall and winter (photo © Taste of Home).

[2] Pumpkin gnocchi with butter sage sauce. Here’s the recipe (photos #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 © DeLallo).

[3] This spicy pumpkin carbonara recipe is made with bucatini—thick spaghetti with a hole in the center. But you can substitute your ribbon pasta of choice. Here’s the recipe.

[4] How about some pumpkin fettuccini Alfredo? Here’s the recipe.

[5] Want some heat? Try this spicy pumpkin pappardelle recipe.

[6] Add potato gnocchi to this pumpkin soup, easy to make with pumpkin puree and chicken stock. Here’s the recipe.

[7] The flavors of fall are in this pumpkin mushroom lasagna. Here’s the recipe (photo © Wheat Foods Council).

October is National Pasta Month and National Pumpkin Month. National Pasta Day is October 17th; October 25th is World Pasta Day. October 26th is National Pumpkin Day. Because of the holidays…the harvest season… Halloween…and Thanksgiving, we thought we’d combine Old World pasta with New World pumpkin. Hence: Pumpkin Manicotti, a Taste Of Home contest winner. The recipe was created by Mandy Howison of Renfrew, Pennsylvania, who makes ravioli and tortellini using the same filling, and notes that it also works well in stuffed shells.

In addition to Pumpkin Manicotti, there are more pumpkin pasta recipes below.

You’ll also find the below the history of manicotti. Manicotti is the American term for what Italians call cannelloni.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN MANICOTTI

Prep time is 30 minutes, and bake time is 25 minutes. For more sophisticated flavors, check out this Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Cannelloni (a.k.a. Manicotti) With Sage, from The Pasta Project.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Cook the manicotti shells according to package directions for al dente. Drain.

2. MIX the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, the pumpkin, Parmesan cheese, egg yolks, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Spoon into the manicotti shells.

3. SPREAD 1 cup of pasta sauce into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Top with the stuffed manicotti. Pour the remaining pasta sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

4. BAKE, covered, for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

5. SPRINKLE with optional herbs and serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired. We put a wedge of Parmesan on a plate with a grater and pass it around the table.
 
 
MORE PUMPKIN PASTA RECIPES
& SOME PUMPKIN PIZZA RECIPES, TOO

 
 
THE HISTORY OF MANICOTTI A.K.A. CANNELLONI

Did you know that manicotti is the same pasta shape as cannelloni*?

In Italy, this pasta tube is called cannelloni. In the U.S., it’s called manicotti or maniche (mah-NEE-kay), meaning sleeves. Both of these names refer to either dried pasta tubes or fresh pasta sheets rolled into tubes. Both are stuffed and then baked.

According to Wikipedia, the original difference may be that cannelloni consists of pasta sheets wrapped around the filling, and manicotti are machine-extruded cylinders with the filling inserted from one end.

Cannelloni is not an ancient shape. According to some food historians, the first stuffed pasta tube—call it the cannelloni prototype—dates to the first half of the 19th century. Reportedly, Vincenzo Corrado, a Neapolitan cook, made a stuffed version of paccheri*.

Paccheri are very large, but short, tubes of pasta, originating in the Campania region of Italy—on the western coast right above the “boot.”

Corrado filled paccheri tubes with minced meat and truffles and cooked them in a tomato sauce. It was an unusual way to serve paccheri at that time. The tubes were typically cooked plain and covered with sauce (and still are).

But did paccheri become canneloni? Did cannelloni develop independently?

According to another version of the origin story, the latter may be true. It credits the invention of a dish called cannelloni to a hotel chef on the Amalfi coast (also in the Campania region of Italy), in 1924.

It is believed that the chef, Salvatore Coletta, cut up sheets of fresh lasagne noodles, topped them with filling, and rolled them into tubes.

His original filling contained minced meat, béchamel sauce, ricotta, Parmesan, and fior di latte mozzarella. He then covered the rolls with tomato sauce and them.

You can read that story here.

Of course, it’s easily possible that two creative chefs could have come up with a similar thought: tubes just begging to be stuffed, lasagna noodles waiting to be repurposed, rolled around a filling, instead of being baked flat, instead topped with layers of fillings.

Both paccheri and cannelloni/manicotti can be smooth or ridged. Both are considered hearty pasta for robust and flavorful sauces.

Cannelloni and manicotti can be made with many different fillings: cheese, meat, seafood, vegetables, even tofu and other vegan fillings.

Similarly, the sauces can be meat-based, like a traditional bolognese; dairy-based, like a classic béchamel; and or vegetable-based, with butter or olive oil. For seafood manicotti, you can use an oil-based sauce with clams, shrimp, mussels, etc; or make a luxurious béchamel with diced lobster or shrimp.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA

> THE HISTORY OF PASTA

> THE HISTORY OF BAKED PASTA

________________

*Cannelloni derives from the Latin word for reeds. This evolved into the Italian word cannello, tube. Manicotti means “big sleeve” in Italian.

†Paccharia, which translates to “slaps,” is said to refer to the slapping sound made when the sauce was poured onto the pasta.

Meet 7 Deadly Zins, an old vine Zinfandel from California’s Lodi Valley. The 7 Deadly brand released its first vine in 2002. The company says that the brand was born from the winemaker’s Catholic school upbringing and lust for making hedonistically seductive* wine.

“Sinful indeed,” they say, “our 2018 Old Vine Zinfandel is full-bodied and seductive. Heaps of jammy berry fruit are followed by aromas of leather, oak, and spice notes. On the palate, the wine is round and layered showing flavors of dark fruits, currants and toffee through a lingering spice-touched finish.”

Sounds delicious, and a perfect pairing for a feast (gluttony). Are there other special occasions for a sinful wine?

 
Can a sinful Zin be part of your Halloween celebration?
 
 
ABOUT 7 DEADLY WINES

7 Deadly wines are made with grapes grown in the Lodi AVA‡ of California, where Zinfandel reigns supreme.

7 Deadly also makes 7 Deadly Red and 7 Deadly Cab. All three bold reds are vinified to have a big mouthfeel, good structure and a long finish.

The wines are also Lodi Rules Certified Sustainable.
 
 
GET YOUR 7 DEADLY ZINS

Buy it online here.
Here’s more about the wine.

7 Deadly also makes Cabernet Sauvignon and a red grape blend.
 
 
MORE ABOUT ZINFANDEL

 
 
WHAT IS AN OLD VINE WINE?

“Old vine” typically refers to a wine made from vines that are 30 to 40 years old, or older; some experts set the minimum at 50 years. Hundreds of years of experience have shown that older vines, when properly maintained, yield a more complex wine. With age brings greater wisdom; or in the case of wine, better flavor.

Grape vines can grow for more than 120 years. After about 20 years, the vines start to yield fewer grapes, which provide more concentrated, intense wines.

There is no legal or generally agreed definition for old vines. The designation can apply to an entire estate, or to only a certain parcel, which was planted before the others.

Diseases such as “dead arm” can also afflict old vines, in some cases further concentrating the juice†.

In the U.S., the most common old vine wine is Zinfandel. In California, vines up to 125 years old are still bearing small amounts of prized Zinfandel fruit. But that’s nothing!

[1] You can drink this fruity Zinfandel anytime, not just during the contemplation of the seven deadly sins (photos #1 and #2 © 7 Deadly Wines).

[2] Zinfully blood-red for Halloween (photo © Little Wine Market).

[3] An old Zinfandel vine. As vines age, they become thicker and more gnarly (photo © Ever Wonder Wine).

[4] An old Pinot Noir vine at Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma, California (photo courtesy Prince Of Pinot).

[5] The world’s largest grapevine, The Great Vine At Hampton Court in England. Yes, this whole leafy green canopy over the trellis is one old, enormous grapevine (photo © SC Wanderlust | Flickr).

*That’s a marketing description, not a wine industry term.

†Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa lata. It randomly affects vineyards all over the world. Often the affected branches are pruned. Left on the vine, they slowly become dead wood. The juice is thus concentrated in the grapes of the remaining branches. Australia’s Dead Arm Shiraz won Wine Of The Year at the 2020 London Wine Competition.

‡The Lodi AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Central Valley of California, at the northern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, east of San Francisco Bay. The AVA gained approval as a designated wine-growing area in 1986.

[1] Mmmm, pumpkin waffles (photo and recipe © Colavita).

[2] Mashed bananas are mixed with the pumpkin in the waffles. You can also slice bananas as a garnish (photo © Jonathan Cooper | Unsplash).

[3] Pumpkin is a great source of the powerful antioxidant, beta-carotene (photo © Libby’s).

[4] The mineral and nutrient contents of rolled oats (in photo) match those of steel-cut oats. Here’s more about it (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

You don’t have to wait until Halloween to make this scrumptious pumpkin waffles recipe. Pumpkin waffles are delicious year-round, but especially seasonal through the fall and winter. This recipe from Colavita invites you to customize garnishes, from pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries to chocolate chips and crème fraîche. The recipe is also a better-for-you option, with whole wheat flour and rolled oats and lots of nutrition from the pumpkin, especially beta-carotene*.

There are more seasonal waffle recipes below.

> The 15 Different Types Of Waffles

> How To Make The Best Waffles

> The History Of Waffles

> The History Of The Waffle Iron
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN WAFFLES
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (the flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg). Mix to combine all the ingredients.

2. COMBINE all the wet ingredients in a separate large bowl, and mix well.

3. POUR the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. PREHEAT the waffle iron. When it’s ready, grease it lightly with a little olive oil (pour about a tablespoon of oil into a paper towel and rub it onto the waffle iron).

5. POUR ½ cup of the batter into the waffle iron and close the lid. Cook until the light on the waffle maker turns green (or indicates that it’s ready).
 
6. REMOVE the waffle from the iron and repeat with the remaining batter. Garnish as desired and serve.
 
 
MORE SEASONAL WAFFLE RECIPES

________________

*The bright orange color of pumpkins and other squash is a dead giveaway that pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotene, an important antioxidant. Beta-carotene is one of the plant carotenoids that is converted to vitamin A in the body.

During the conversion to vitamin A, beta-carotene performs many important functions in overall health. Current research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, and offers protection against heart disease and other diseases, including some degenerative aspects of aging [source].
 
 

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