You are right, BunserBurner; as a carbo, traditional pasta is not a particularly a healthy meal. But as an alternative, whole wheat pasta is usually God-awful.
I love fusilli and rotini for catching pesto. But the best is radiatore! All those little hiding places…
For marinara though I prefer ziti or some other tube (with a flat end and no ridges, please).
The worst pastas are the ones that look like die cut shapes of Christmas trees, phallic symbols, even chariot wheels. They don’t cook well.
Radiatore is SO fun to eat for some reason. 
I use it when I make lasagna soup which sounds strange but is actually easy and yummy.
abasket ,I have only used garlic and herbs in the bread, not lemon. I mostly make it plain so it can be used for breakfast toast too
I think it is so easy because there isn’t a lot of guessing for the temp of the water. I have noticed when I make it in the summer , it rises a lot faster.
It is perfect paid with pasta too !
My favorites are Farfalle and the very hard to find large Orecchiette. I like Rigatoni, too.
Bread. I so miss the fresh mischbrot from the bakery down the block in Germany. It’s a sourdough with rye and whole wheat.
I also like challah which I only met very late in life. It makes the best French Toast.
For those of us with non carbs…zucchini raw that has been spaghetti sized…regular sauce. It can be quite good. But…we were in Italy last week…had two new dishes: pasta with parmesan and black pepper and seafood lasagne. If anyone has the recipes…love to have them!
I had forgotten orecchiette! It’s a bit denser and takes longer to cook. Does really well with sausage, broccoli de rabe, and seasonings.
@doschicos I’m pretty sure I can imagine your lasagna soup, but could you post a recipe? Sounds yummy!
Bevhills, I saw a similar zucchini recipe on one of the food shows years ago. Also, some cooks slice zucchini in such a way so they can use it like lasagna pasta. Some people do that with thin oblong slices of black beauty eggplant, too.
@stradmom
Here’s the recipe I use: http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/
These are the changes I make when preparing:
I use radiatore pasta.
Cook the pasta separately and add to the bowls and put soup on top. That way the pasta keeps its shape better, especially with leftovers.
I cut back on the chicken stock, replacing 1/3 to 1/2 with water. Otherwise I find it too salty.
I add shredded mozzarella to the cheese mixture.
I top with the cheese mixture and chiffonade basil leaves.
Mathmom said it all. When I visited son, I brought up,challah, and made French toast for son and roommates. It was devoured.
Thanks @doschicos! That sounds wonderful!
@bevhills - I was in Rome just this past week and often saw pasta with parm and black pepper on the menu. I skimmed passed it each time as I thought it was some version of plain noodles. Sounds like I missed good opportunity. Bummer!
people eat pasta? bread??? without guilt?
My favorite is prosciutto tomato and olive spaghetti.
Boooo, you’re no fun…
Lately, I’ve been liking my pasta with the harvest pasta sauce at trader joes. Second favorite would be the classico spicy red pepper.
I hardly ever cook pasta any more, though I occasionally pick up a half serving or so from the grocery store for lunch, or I might order it at a restaurant. I went breadless for about a year, but then rebounded, so now I eat half a bagel or English Muffin most days with breakfast. And we have garlic bread maybe once a month or so.
I love pasta too much to give it up. However, much of a pasta dish is about the “toppings” - be it meat, veggies, sauce or whatever. So, I just have really cut down on the amount of pasta, but am not shy about a generous serving of the meatballs/sausage/seafood/protein, veggies and sauce - especially if it’s marinara.
Once a week pasta is ok in my book.
If you look at glycemic index, from 0 - 100, pasta is in the 40’s and low 50’s. Much lower than white bread and potatoes and on the borderline of what is considered high.
Here’s another list:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-eating/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods