Happy Spaghetti

Reposting from the September 9, 2007 blog entry at Chocolate Soundboard, my first blog. Today is our fifth year anniversary and we're miles apart and both down with some sort of flu/strep. I've updated the photo from a batch of 'Comfort Spaghetti' I made a few weeks back. Enjoy! (Oh, and Happy Anniversary to Alvs and moi!)


Over the years I have mastered what I like to call ‘Comfort Spaghetti’—a very easy mix of onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, tuna, Italian seasoning, tomatoes, Hunt’s Four Cheese tomato sauce, tossed with al dente noodles and a big helping of grated cheddar cheese; and of course, Pinoy style, with garlic bread (smothered in butter) on the side. What makes this savory meal special and different each time is the variation of the ingredients: oftentimes I add in mushrooms and parsley, sometimes I use fresh herbs, other times oregano and basil, and almost always a tiny bit of sugar plus a dash of sour cream in the end (for this one, I used milk and lemon juice instead). These little touches make all the difference. Alvin’s mom makes a hearty version with cream of mushroom soup and green peppers thrown into the basic marinara mix. Yesterday, I sautéed chopped cremini mushrooms with the sauce and let the onions get extra sweet by letting them ‘sweat’ in the pan longer.

We're now on our third year together, so perhaps subconsciously, whipping up this comforting meal on our anniversary was my way of celebrating and reminding myself that the distance doesn’t matter when you know you can make something as reliable as pasta, and that it can taste wonderful and different every time, no matter how familiar.

And consciously, today, I wore one of my favorite dresses, made a crisp salad of romaine hearts and arugula in a lemony vinaigrette to go with the spaghetti, washed it all down with iced green tea and apple juice, and finished this happy meal with a crunchy nectarine. And I’m definitely going back for seconds :)