Spaghetti is probably my all time favourite pasta. I love how it swirls around on a plate, I love twirling it around on my fork and slurping it into my mouth. I love it plain with just some Parmesan, cracked pepper, garlic and butter. I love it with tomato based sauces. I love it with creamy sauces. I love it with Pesto. I LOVE IT.
So, here is a little how to on cooking the “Best Spaghetti Ever”:
Boiling spaghetti isn’t rocket science, but I implore you not to overcook it. Test it from time to time. You still want it to have “give” in the middle when you bite into it. To give you an idea, it should take about 8 minutes, depending on what pasta you’re using. It should have a recommended cooking time on the packet so use that as a guide. Always check how your spaghetti is going by tasting it.
Melt some butter in a fry pan over a low heat. When the butter has melted (make sure it’s not too hot) add some garlic that has been sliced into thin rounds. It’s really important that the heat isn’t up too high so that the garlic doesn’t burn and start to taste bitter. Now this is the best part. YOU CAN ADD ANYTHING FROM HERE. Some diced tomato, olives, anchovies, chili flakes… ANYTHING. Once your spaghetti is done, drain it and toss it in the fry pan. Use a pair of tongs to make sure the spaghetti is coated in the butter and everything else you’ve put in there. Serve with some cracked pepper and a big sprinkle of Parmesan. ENJOY.
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These little troublemakers turned two today.
We can has cake?!
OK!
You can’t really see it in this picture, but I sampled the cake as well. Pretty good! It would work well as a savory muffin with cream cheese icing.
Barkday Cake!
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup smooth low fat peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated carrot (1 medium sized carrot should be enough)
1/3 cup honey (and a bit extra for the icing)
1 egg
Reduced fat cottage cheese
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Spoon Mixture into cupcake or muffin tins. Bake for 25-30 mins.
Mix some honey with three tablespoons of cottage cheese to top the cakes. Serve! Make sure you give a command first! :D Good dog!
Barkday Cake recipe taken from this website Found via the googlenets. Photos courtesy of The Poladroid Project
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I live on my own in a one bedroom flat with a somewhat small kitchen. I kept meaning to make myself this soup while I was knocked out with the flu twice in the last four weeks. A little trick that I learned from my old boss/surrogate grandfather Nello, of Nellos’ Trattoria in Cheltenham back when I was an apprentice.
It’s unbelievably quick to make, which is what holds appeal for sick and lazy bastards like me. Behold:
Boil the kettle, dissolve a chicken stock cube in the boiling water (maybe 2 cups?). Pour into a small saucepan. Alternatively you can use, and what I use often, is the premade stocks in the tetra packs. In that case just bring it to the boil in a saucepan.
In a separate bowl, whisk together an egg and a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add a dash of tobasco if you have some. Or, you could just add some pepper, or even dried chilli flakes (I couldn’t reach mine in the cupboard so I just used pepper…). There’s enough salt from the cheese and stock once it reduces so you won’t need to add extra.
Once the stock is rapidly boiling, pour in your egg stuff. Stir! Stir Briskly! The egg will break up and form little strands and clouds. You can serve as is with some toast at this stage but I add little star shaped pastas. Wait until they cook (about three minutes? Less?) obviously before you serve up and enjoy. If you have some lying around your house, toast some sourdough and rub it with a garlic clove and slather with butter!
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