I boil my water that is salted, when boiling, add the pasta, stir, have lid on, and remove from heat and let set 15 min. Then drain. This always works for me.

Sue

Salt free herb what?

The fresh pasta you can buy in the grocery store has been lightly cooked (basically, disinfected). You can mix a small portion with a watery sauce, like marinara and cook it in the microwave for a few minutes. This won't give you a great dish of pasta, but it works. Make sure it's good and hot all the way through, however. There are ways to make boxed (dry) pasta in the microwave, but it's a lot more fuss and bother than doing it on the stove.

But why are you wandering off? If your stove takes half an hour to boil water, get an electric kettle or a good quality induction burner and use that. From the kettle, heat your water and put your pot on the stove on high with an inch of water in the bottom (so it won't scorch). Your kettle will boil in a minute or two. Pour the water in the pot. Repeat if you need more. You won't have time to walk off before the pot on the stove is ready for the pasta. While the pasta is boiling, heat your sauce, get the salad, or whatever. Drain the pasta and heat with the sauce. Even that the sauce is made, you should be able to do all this in 15-20 min.

Still, you could teach yourself not to walk off. Put up signs if you have to. "Is there something on the stove? Turn around!" on the kitchen door, for instance. Get a pendant or wrist timer and set it before you start the cooking. If the time isn't right once you have it going, you can change it.

The only reason for salting the water is for flavor. You can do Sue's method without the salt.

I

You "can" do it in the microwave......but how do you know you won't forget it and leave it in there for too long?
I go with Marilyn, bring the water to a boil, add the pasta, turn off the heat, cover and set a timer for 12 minutes.
Fresh pasta from the grocery store has been lightly cooked...? Really???

I think it's dangerous to leave the kitchen while using a hot plate. It's too easy to forget all about what is going on in the kitchen, what might have fallen onto the area or maybe the wrong hot plate was turned on.

House fires sometimes have the most innocent beginnings.

Here's a link to the 10 Best Salt Free Marinara Sauce Recipes on Yummly:

http://www.yummly.com/recipes/salt-free-marinara-sauce

Marilyn's tip is great, but I suspect that in your case it will only save you from burning stuff on the stove. If you wander off nothing will get burnt this timr around but you'll come back to cold slimy pasta that's been swimming in its cooking water for too long.

I often go out to the garden when something is on the stove. Never burnt anything. I wear a watch. Sometimes I set an alarm clock next to where I am weeding or whatever.

Oh, Barb!!! Wandering off and not paying attention to things on the stove will, eventually, lead to a fire in your home. If you *know* you have a tendency to wander off, you might want to re-train yourself to pay attention to things...you, your loved ones, your pets if you have any, deserve to be as safe as possible!

If you truly are hard-wired to wander off, you might want to try this for cooking pasta. It's a way to cook pasta in the microwave, and is highly rated on Amazon--at the very least, you will set the microwave for a limited, finite, specific amount of time (directions for it's use are very clear), after which the MW will stop, yes?? If you wander off, you may still have slimy pasta sitting in water, as wintercat mentioned.

What I've always told my students is this: If you practice dangerous behavior, you put yourself and maybe others in danger.

There's Linda again acting as if my every utterance, no matter how trivial, is from outer space. As far as I know, all, or nearly all, commercial pasta is lightly cooked. Or "disinfected" if you prefer. Often using steam, but always some kind of heat. Keeps them from poisoning the populace.

Barb, the trick is you don't go out in the garden to pick something while you have a pot on the stove. You just don't. Too many distractions. You stay in the kitchen, or at the worst, in the next room where you can hear and smell everything in the kitchen. You CAN control this. You just have to be mindful. If you need a sprig of thyme, turn off the stove. Turn it on again when you come back in. If it's something that's going to get weird if you turn it off, don't leave it. Period. Just don't. If you absolutely must go to the bathroom, turn it off, and start over again when you get back. It's fine for Wintercat because she doesn't burn things. You do. Sooz is right that you could burn down your house, so just don't do it. Ever.

The trick to salt free marinara is to put something in it to give it some zing so you don't miss the salt so badly. "Marinara" doesn't really mean anything specific other than a sauce made by sailors. In the U.S., it usually means a thin tomato sauce, so I assume that's what you're asking. I can't remember if you can eat onions and garlic. They help a lot. A little more acid, like a little lemon juice, can help create an illusion of salt. If you can't have onion, you could try mincing a turnip in the food processor, then browning it off. I warn you--this takes time, and while you can browse through your mail, or threads on GW, you can't walk off and leave it while nothing seems to be happening because it goes all of a sudden from white to golden and you don't want it to go dark brown. Anyway, it tastes good in the sauce, and its pungency would help with the lack of salt. Remember, most canned tomatoes have a lot of sodium in them, so start from fresh or make sure just how much is in your cans.

I was watching an episode of America's Test Kitchen this past weekend and Lisa the Gadget Gal tested, and suggested, the Microwave Pasta Cooker sooz suggested above.

Here's a recipe for: how to cook pasta in 60-seconds.

Soak pasta 8-hours in water. When ready to cook, drop into boiling salted water for 60-seconds. Drain. (Grainlady note: If you are using gluten-free pasta, it may not require the full 8-hours in water, and will cook quicker in the boiling water - at least the brands I tried.)

I'd suggest a Polder Timer on a lanyard (cord) so you can wear it around your neck. I have 2 of them - hubby uses one for some of his tasks. I tend to multi-task, wander outside to pick produce, put my nose in a good book, check the Garden Web --- lots of potential distractions, especially when baking....so I wear my Polder Timer to bring me back to reality.

-Grainlady

Plllog, I think you're being a little sensitive about LindaC's comment. I interpreted it as "Wow! Who knew?" which was my reaction as well. I have no reason to doubt you, but I was surprised as I had no inkling.

I have a timer function on my phone, which lives in my pocket during the day. I set it all the time when I'm cooking (especially at work) because I also get distracted and the timer reminds me that things are happening that need my attention. It's a habit I think you need to get into Barb; if you don't have a phone then a timer such as Grainlady's would be a good idea.

I, too, interpreted LindaC's comment as Wow! Who Knew? - which was actually my reaction as well at what seemed to be a surprising piece of info.

My co-worker doesn't have a working stove, just a microwave, and had been talking about seeing the Fasta Pasta advertised. I gave her one for her birthday, and she loves it. Occasionally she'll tell me, "I had Fasta Pasta for supper last night!" It works like a charm.

I go out in my back yard to pick basil or other herbs while cooking. It only takes a few seconds. I don't see how that would be any different than poking around in the pantry or somewhere else for ingredients while things are on the stove. In any of these cases, your eyes are off the stove. You just have to not get distracted while outside.

Sally

Thanks guys...I did mean "Who knew!" but since I was called out, I did some research and can find no evidence that fresh pasta is "sterilized" or slightly cooked before being sold. I am remembering super markets that constantly had an extruder running and were packaging "nids" and selling them about as fast as they could turn them out on a weekend. Another store would roll out and fill their cheese ravioli in full view, and there was no precooking happening. But, I do know that some Chinese stores that sell "fresh noodles" will steam them before selling

I too keep my phone's timer running when I am not actively stirring a pot. I used to have a timer that clipped onto my shirt. One time I wandered over to the neighbor's with my timer on my shirt. After a few minutes chatting he said "Linda, I don't know what you are timing, but it's about to be done."...I had bread in the oven!

A tomato, fresh, contains about 6 grams of sodium. To make a decent sauce it needs to be cooked down so it's not watery, so that will concentrate the sodium naturally present. Keep that in mind when you make your sauce.

A classic marinara contains no onions, just garlic, tomatoes, some red pepper, salt ( which you will eliminate) and red pepper.... cooked rapidly in a shallow pan until it is thickened. a lot of people believe that the reason it's called "marinara" in the US is because it originally contained fish or seafood. In Italy you won't find marinara, it's salsa Napolitano.

Barb, you definitely need a timer and one that you can carry with you.

Here's my suggestion: Buy one of these handy timers (See below). Grainlady told me about it years ago, and I promptly bought one. I also bought a bigger & much louder stand-alone timer recommended by Ann T, and use it all the time too. But my hearing is poor, even with hearing aids. So I use them both, often at the same time. It's my double guarantee that I won't accidentally ignore something that needs my attention.

The Polder with Strap hangs around my neck, and I can work on my computer, do laundry, wander outside to pick herbs, etc. without forgetting what I've got cooking on the stove. I really like it because it keeps beeping until I turn it off. So if I'm deep in thought, running water, or watching TV and don't hear it at first, eventually I'll notice the beeping and take appropriate action. It's really a handy gadget, and I wouldn't be without it now. I heartily recommend it.

Polder timer with Strap

Apologies, Linda, for misinterpreting. Thanks for explaining the source of your wonderment. When I said fresh pasta from the grocery store, I meant packages from factories/purveyors in the refrigerator section (called "fresh" because they're not dried and have egg (though some are somewhat dry)). I don't know if it's a code issue here or something, but we have all kinds of live prep food in the markets here, but I haven't seen pasta making. The kind you buy fresh made today really should be cooked and eaten that day or the next. The packaged kind could take a week to get to you, or more, and is lightly cooked to kill bacteria. My guess (pure guess), is that also helps the pasta not turn into a sticky single blob, too. I've seen reference to it from a few different sources (and I think it might cover dry pasta too, but I'm less certain of that), but I don't have any sources to hand and have a business meeting soon. Lucky you to be able to get fresh made on site at the grocery store.

Sally, my never ever is for someone who has the potential to get distracted. Also the kind of general safety rule one teaches. You're an adult and know your own ability to pick an herb without burning down the house. That you do it with the conscious intention not to get distracted proves the rule. :)

Wow, I didn't expect to get so many lectures. It was meant to be a confession. This was a long time ago before DH passed away. Since there is just me, I don't do that often. I know it just takes one time. I will, however, get one of those Polders. I have a small one that I use when I have stuff in the washer or dryer. I have trouble with my back if I stand too much and with the rheumatoid arthritis, I have to do a lot of sitting but still go to the Y twice a week because I know if I did not exercise, I would be in a wheelchair. I still have my right mind. Thanks for all the answers--even the reprimands. Sounds like I am an irresponsible kid. Barb

B.C. You bring back amusing memories. My 1st Old Lady was exactly the same. She'd be reading the paper in the living room while dinner simmered, I'd hear a loud, "OH MY GOSH!," sure enough there'd be smoke pouring out of the kitchen. It happened many many times. I laugh about it now same as I did then. Never took it seriously - that's just the way it was.

scurrying feet...long hair flying...butt disappearing around a corner...newspaper fluttering to the floor..

Don't feel bad. I find I'm setting my SUPER LOUD timer a bit more lately.

One left pot of sugar water scared me straight!

I'll put potatoes on then prepare the rest of dinner, or even wander into the livingroom. I know that they've come to a boil, when I hear them boil over. :-)

After several times of things like smoke pouring out of the oven when I turned it on to pre-heat, and a long turned to mush salad in the alternate refrigerator, I have learned to make a menu and tuck it behind the knob on the kitchen counter.....to be sure I have served all the food I prepared!

Oh, dear, I'm sorry Barb! I didn't mean to lecture! I meant to be the girlfriend who looks you right in the eyes and says, "Don't do that!" because it's too easy to just do what you do until someone shakes you out of it. My friends do it for me. We (the lecturers) just want you to be safe. The timer is a great strategy. If you get one that lets you set two times, you can set one for when the dish is done, and another for just five minutes or so to tell you to go back in the kitchen and see what's happening.

A long time ago, I had a friend who would do the same thing, but worse. She'd go out to pick a lemon, decide it was a beautiful day after all, plant a couple of flats of flowers, dig up a small stump, pull some weeds, and start on fixing the sprinklers while her roast was burning (never having picked the lemon). Her husband told her she had to give up cooking or gardening. They started eating dinner out. :)

I'm alternating between amusement and bemusement reading this thread:)

My mom drilled in it me to NEVER leave the stove unattended. One day she was making a roux and the phone rang. She could never resist a ringing phone and answered it. A severely charred pan proved she should practice what she preaches.

Barb, whether it was meant to be a confession or not from you, and whether you perceived the responses as lectures or not, the bottom line is that people here care about you and your safety, and responded gently but clearly and helpfully.

We have ALL made cooking mistakes, but when I read your post that began with: "I am notorious for burning stuff on the stove. I have a tendency to wander off and not set the timer"--well, that was scary! Thanks for understanding.

I, too, didn't mean to lecture. I get distracted all the time in the kitchen. The computer tempts me away while my eggs harden beyond recognition on the stove. Reading a recipe over again while the nuts I'm toasting burn on the stove. For some reason, I get the most distracted while toasting nuts. I've learned I just can't step away for even a second while doing that. I just love to multi-task, and cooking something that has to be constantly tended is what gets me in trouble.

Sally

Barb I don't know if you do orders on Amazon, but here is a link to a timer I got last year and I just love it. CDN TM30 Direct Entry 2-Alarm Timer

It's nice and loud, easy to use and even though it doesn't fit around your neck, it fits in your pocket!

I get distracted too and have burned many things. Yes, I have almost burnt down the house on several occasions. I wish I was perfect and never did that, but so far all I have is a few ruined pans to show for it. Lots of burnt toast. Remembering to set the timer helps somewhat.

Hang in there dear Barb!