Sometimes all it takes is a little wild-colored pasta to turn an otherwise blasé meal into something fun. Such was the case the other night when I cooked up this black and white swirled all-natural bow tie pasta I had picked up at a farmers’ market a few weeks ago. There were a few other variations: checkered macaroni and rainbow spaghetti, for example, but these bow ties reminded me of the movie “Beetlejuice” and I just knew I had to cook them up.

A little butter and a pinch of salt, and voilà! Dinner was served. The pasta itself tasted fine. I think I’m going to try the rainbow spaghetti next time.