Sundried Tomato & Herbed Garlic Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Moving into a new house for the first time is daunting. In my first two months, I have lost my keys, gotten locked inside my own bedroom (faulty lock), had 3 power trips, locked my car and house keys in my car, watched scary movies I probably shouldn't have... but the one thing I've had so much fun doing is cooking my own meals! Granted, I've also had a very busy period at work, which means I haven't really had time for home cooked meals but when I have had the chance, I've been trying out quite a few different recipes. 

I tried a really great pasta dish in the past few weeks, as part of a meal I cooked for Le Boyfriend's 30th birthday dinner. It's so easy, so delicious, and I've been craving it ever since! It's one of those dishes you can whip up for a weeknight dinner, without having to stop at the grocery shop for ingredients (if you don't want to). Without further ado... 

Sun-dried Tomato Spaghettini

Serves 2

• 2 servings worth of spaghettini (made fresh or from instant), cooked al dente
• 4-5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced streaky beef strips (or bacon for those who can)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to season
• A handful (or more if you want a salad) of fresh rocket leaves
• Grated parmesan 

1. Boil the pasta as per instructions, remove from heat, strain and pour some cold water over it to keep it from cooking any further; set aside
2. In a medium/large saute pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, lower the flame and toss in the garlic, sundried tomatoes, streaky beef strips, paprika, chili flakes and thyme. Allow the flavours to infuse into the oil until the garlic reaches a beautiful shade of brown without getting burnt and crispy. 
3. Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat in the oil and goodness in the pan. Season to taste and remove to a large bowl to stir in the fresh rocket and grated parmesan
4. Serve hot and enjoy :) 

This can be a meal on it's own (large portion), or a smaller meal (around 60-70g per serving) to accompany a protein and some veg (for R's birthday dinner, I served it with garlic roasted asparagus and thyme grilled lamb cutlets). I'll share the recipes for those dishes soon (wait til I try them again and get some pictures before they go). 

100th Post!

I thought long and hard about what recipe I would feature on my 100th blog post; fancy sweets or simple tea cakes, stylish cupcakes or a super complicated iconic recipe? Then I just took a moment to think about why I decided to do this in the first place: I just love to cook. I love baking, I love tasting and playing with flavours, and Laaaawd knows I love eating (my rapidly increasing waistline is testament enough to that). 

I started blogging as a coping mechanism, let's be honest here. I had just started a new, really tough, corporate job, broken up with my boyfriend, and just really needed to get back to what I like to do in my own time. Cooking and baking became the way I had quality time with myself, and blogging was my way of staying connected to the world. 

Sometimes the routine of our daily lives get to us and we forget to just sit back and like ourselves. I got to a point where I really did not like who I was, and I really did not know what I liked. So I started this, and you know what?  It's been an amazing experience the whole way! I never expected to stick to it til this point (I've left a trail of half-started blogs on the world wide web in the past ten years), and I certainly didn't expect to actually have readers. 

So to the friends and family who have given me so much love and encouragement over the past year, thank you so much! I'm going to share the recipe of the first dish I ever made: bolognese sauce! It's nothing fancy, it's nothing new, but it was the first thing I cooked in my life, and it's still my favourite dish to make when I have the time. It's my mum's recipe, and I may have tweaked it here and there over the years, but the premise for the idea is still there. 

Our Bolognese Sauce

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely crushed
• 400g minced beef
• 1 can of ready diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato puree
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk or cooking cream
• A handful of fresh basil leaves
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat your pot and pour in enough olive oil to just coat the bottom, then toss in the diced yellow onions and garlic. Just cook until they soften up, you don't want colour or crispiness on them. Toss in the minced beef and mix with the onion and garlic until slightly browned. 
2. Pour in the tomatoes and puree, and what I like to do is fill the puree can with water and pour that in as well. Just get all that tomatoey goodness out. Allow the mixture to bubble and boil before turning the heat down to a low simmer, then pour in milk or cream to add a little thickness to the sauce. 
3. Stir in the hand torn basil leaves, and season to taste. 
4. Serve over your pasta of choice, and grate on some parmesan. 

I can't wait for the next 100 posts, guys, and really excited to share my favourite dishes with you. As you've noticed, I'm trying to share more savoury dishes, as I'm also trying to cut back on my own sugar intake. That doesn't mean I'm not going to still share TONNES of dessert recipes. In fact, there's one coming up very soon featuring Butternut Squash ;) 

Lots of love, 

Nabs

Home-made Beef Burger Patties

I love burgers; I love meat and I love cheese. I've been craving burgers almost everyday of this fasting month, and considering I dislike crowds, waiting, and flat mass-produced burger patties, I decided to make my own patties!

Two weeks ago, I made a beef and zucchini burger, but didn't manage to take any pictures. I will simply have to recreate that recipe so I can share it with you good people *sigh* it's a hard knock life.

Last weekend, however, I made a burger patty using a different recipe. It's really fun to try to make your own burger patties, especially when I can put in whatever the hell I want to!

Beef and Onion Burger

• 1 pound of good quality minced australian beef
• 1/2 a big yellow onion, chopped (I chopped mine a bit chunky because I like the crunch)
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 2 tbsp HP Sauce (or any preferred brown sauce)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (use your hands, don't be afraid to get messy)
2. Split into balls and get into desired size and shape
3. Grill/Fry (I prefer grilling) for about 8 minutes on each side, if you want to add cheese, then put it on while you're cooking the second side

It turned out quite well, though a bit small (I realise now that I should have made it bigger as it'll shrink with the heat). Am definitely going to try this one again next time we have a barbecue.

Serve up on your bread of choice (I used an english muffin), with some fresh, crisp lettuce, onions, sauteed mushrooms, and Heinz ketchup. It has to be Heinz.

Ta!

x Nabiya