...Catelli's Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains with Chef Lynn Crawford (GIVEAWAY CONTEST!)

We're excited to hold a giveaway contest for a year's supply of Catelli's Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains pasta ($200 value).  Read to the end of this post to find out how you can enter to win!

One of my favourite foods to eat growing up was my mother's spaghetti and meat sauce.  Growing up in a family where the cuisine was typically Chinese food, spaghetti and meat sauce was a change of pace.  Of course, my mother found a way to cook spaghetti Chinese style using the ingredients and flavours she knows best, by stir frying vegetables and meat with a soy and oyster based sauce.  Since then I've come to realize that pasta is a fantastic base for whatever flavours and ingredients you want to add.

Last week we were invited to the launch event of Catelli's Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains pasta with celebrity Chef Lynn Crawford.  We jumped at the opportunity and in the end had a great time tasting and cooking with Chef Lynn, who is as animated, humorous and genuine as she is on TV.  One of my favourite Chef Lynn quotes, "Did you just call me babe?" (Restaurant Makeover), is now replaced with her comment "I like vegetarians...that eat bacon, sometimes".  When asked which Calgary restaurant is her favourite, she gave a shoutout to her fellow chef friends at Charcut and Rouge.
Catelli's Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains pasta will be first launched in Western Canada only.  It comes in three pasta cuts: spaghetti, spaghettini and rotini.  The pasta is made from a blend of quinoa, amaranth, teff, sorghum, millet and GMO-free whole wheat.  Most of us know the health benefits of whole grains and ancient grains but the real question is how does it taste?  There is a slight nutty flavour and firmer texture to the pasta that we really enjoyed.  Here are three tips we found helpful that Chef Lynn shared with us to make the most of whole grain pasta:

-Delicate pasta shapes go well with delicate sauces and heartier, ridged shapes pair well with richer sauces and ragus.

-Whole grain pasta has the perfect texture for cold or chilled recipes and marinates well in tangy dressings.  The firmness of the noodles also provides a good base for both crunchy and juicy fresh vegetables

-Whole grain pasta can take on strong and complex flavours.   Ingredients that pair well include garlic, chilli, anchovies, rich pesto sauces and bitter or dark leafy greens such as kale, Swiss chard and radicchio.


We had the chance to make one of Chef Lynn's recipes- Chilled Noodle Salad with Ginger Wasabi Dressing.  This tasty recipe is perfect for the upcoming warmer months and is super quick to prepare.  In the time it took for us to boil the pasta we were done prepping the vegetables and ready to plate.  Stay tuned for the recipe.
Group shot!
ENTER TO WIN!
To enter to win a year's supply (60 boxes, valued at $200) of Catelli's Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains pasta, you must be a Canadian resident and all you have to do is:

-Comment below with your favourite pasta dish. (Use your first name to enter, it will have to match your email sender info.  Comments will be moderated.)

-Double your chances of winning by following us on Twitter @dcfortheloveof and tweeting (optional): 
"I entered @dcfortheloveof giveaway for a year supply of Catelli Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains pasta! http://bit.ly/1DDlwAy"

A random winner will be selected from all the entries.  The contest closes on April 1, 2015.  In the meantime, if you want to pick up a box of Catelli's Healthy Harvest Ancient Grains pasta, check out this $1 off coupon!

**CONTEST CLOSED- The winner is Lisa B. from Ottawa!  Congratulations!

Photos courtesy of Gail Bergman PR

42 comments:

  1. Great experience cooking with a chef! Interesting pasta salad with wasabi!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My favorite pasta dish is spaghetti with meatball !
















    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorite is spaghetti with mashed up ground beef! (No meatballs)

    ReplyDelete
  4. my favorite pasta dish is lasgna

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love rigatoni and meatsauce. Have loved it always. A great Lasagna is a fave too!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lasagna is my favorite although I've never met a pasta dish I didn't like!

    ReplyDelete
  7. My favourite is spaghetti bolognese.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My favourite pasta dish is Creamy Garlic Bacon Penne.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I follow you on Twitter @glogirl3 and tweeted~ http://twitter.com/glogirl3/status/579463414625542144

    ReplyDelete
  10. Our fave pasta dish, is spaghetti with pesto, carmelized mushrooms, roasted asparagus, grape tomatoes and pine nuts!

    thanks

    Anne Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  11. https://twitter.com/greeeneyedwhwom/status/579464885098024960

    thanks

    Anne Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  12. My favourite pasta dish is pasta carbonara :)
    preferred email: andrea_hockeygirl at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Following on twitter and tweeted
    https://twitter.com/mommy2fiveboys/status/579721082720010240
    preferred email andrea_hockeygirl at hotmail dot com

    thank you for the chance!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hot & Spicy - *Chilis* - Goulash complimented with home made rolls.....

    ReplyDelete
  15. I follow on twitter and tweeted.
    https://twitter.com/Pamalot28/status/579985422350172160

    ReplyDelete
  16. So many favourites, but lasagna is one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  17. mac and cheese made with tomaote soup

    ReplyDelete
  18. https://twitter.com/lbolduc0/status/580188558167814145

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bacon carbonara is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  20. i love lasagna i could live on it

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love spaghetti!
    My favourite sauces are the tomato based ones - with a little chilli pepper for some heat. And freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. It is one food all family members enjoy - fun and flavourful.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I would love to make my chicken pot pie pasta bowl with this! dtdady at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I like a pasta with olive oil, spinach, parm and garlic
    jan

    ReplyDelete
  24. our favorite past dish is any type of noodles with grilled chopped chicken breasts, chopped mushrooms and spinach with a cream sauce made of cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and ranch dressing and we spice it up with Mr Dash garlic blend

    ReplyDelete
  25. I also follow on twitter @wghutton and tweeted https://twitter.com/wghutton/status/580468221666582529

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love fettuccine alfredo

    spazsss@yahoo.ca

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love Spaghetti and meatballs. (jlcmrc@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Follow on twitter (@JudyCowan) & tweeted https://twitter.com/JudyCowan/status/580536439965896704 (jlcmrc@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  29. My absolute favourite pasta dish is definitely anything penne with pesto. I love all sorts ... walnut and spinach, pinenuts, or the traditional basil pesto!

    Tweeted too at: https://twitter.com/magscheung/status/580883206829961217

    ReplyDelete
  30. My favourite is fettucini alfredo. So rich but so yum.
    Following on twitter as Jolie238
    RT https://twitter.com/Jolie238/status/580890889146535936

    ReplyDelete
  31. I like fettucini alfredo with broccoli. angandcolin(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  32. I tweeted https://twitter.com/crazyladybibs/status/581312754167861248

    ReplyDelete
  33. Tweeted - https://twitter.com/apham17/status/582311099988611072

    ReplyDelete
  34. We love spagetti and meatballs with a nice Arribiata meat sauce on top!

    Lori Jackson

    Tweeted
    https://twitter.com/lorinmario/status/582898489253822464

    ReplyDelete
  35. My favourite is spaghetti and meatballs with homemade pasta sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tweeted at https://twitter.com/cassey48/status/583307344185929728

    ReplyDelete