Sizzle it

"What is literature compared with cooking? The one is shadow, the other is substance."

E.V Lucas

Shall we begin then? Here are a few good reasons why YOU should cook more.

Among those of you who I count as being my friends, there are a good few individuals who consider themselves afficionados of one or another type of human expression which is, by the majority of us, considered an artform. Literature is a big one, as are movies, photography and other forms of visual art. Why then, do people who are clearly fond of getting their brains and senses tantalized by images and words so often pop a frozen pizza in the oven and be content with it? The "art"  that is created in your kitchen comes from your own power to control and blend ingredients as well as serving a necessary human function of feeding you. It would be a terrible waste to miss this chance of self-actualization that is part of your daily routine anyway.  It's an atrocious misconception to think that good food can only be made by other people, must have meat in it and be so full of fat you could start a soap factory with it.

What am I trying to convey with this jumble then? I'm not really sure, I guess I'm trying to invoke some desire to strive for something while atleast, initially, daring to fail. Like most things, you are probably going to make mistakes the first time you try something. For this reason, all the recipes I give come with quite specific instructions, that you may or may not wish to follow. If you think something should be done differently, do it! Experiment. Your cooking will always evolve through own improvement, cooking shows, friends recipes or even discovering a cool new ingredient.

It's no fun to spend an hour chopping stuff and tending to the frying pan and ending up with something that looks as inviting as the remnants of burnt chemical waste and probably tastes worse. This however, will not happen very often. When Klangor the caveman  first tried warming a slice of mamoth over a fire before eating, he was surely a bit apprehensive when it turned all brown.

Enough pseudo-philosophical pep talk, lets eat!. To start off, lets do pasta. Pasta is easy, cheap to buy in large quantities and rarely fails.Since experience dictates that NO-ONE in this country knows how to make Spaghetti Carbonara even remotely like it's supposed to be, I'm going to start with it. A little disclaimer first, this cheesy goodness is no diet food, and should be considered a special treat

Spaghetti Carbonara, veggie style

This was my favorite food when I was a kid, but have stopped making it since stopping meat consumption. Thankfully, veggie-bacon (which has a very different texture but strikingly similar taste) is now available.

Carbonara is a dish native to the region of Lazio in central Italy, Rome in particular. Carbonara means "chimneysweep", and is a slightly elegant working class dish. In a quaint family-run restaurant in a some small city outside of Rome they will still serve it the truly oldschool recipe, meaning the sauce has no cream, only eggs and cheese. But more commonly cream will be added to improve the texture and make it less chunky.

To atleast slightly counter its general unhealthiness, I use organic dark grain spaghetti ("Reformi" brand, can be found in almost every store in Finland). And unfortunately this is not vegan, as the recipe requires egg, plus the veggie bacon has some dairy in it.

For 3-4 people

400g of spaghetti

4 eggs

5 medium/large cloves of garlic

2dl cream (The soy cream by alpro is excellent, but any will do)

1 bag veggie bacon bits (Hälsans kök brand, available in all shops bigger than a Siwa)

150g of Pecorino cheese (If a shop has a proper cheesen counter, it will have pecorino)

black pepper

Olive oil

1. In a bowl, separate the the yellow part of the egg. This can easily be achieve by breaking it into two, then dropping the yellow stuff from one half of the shell to the other a few times. It doesnt have to be perfect, don't worry.

2. Add the cream, whisk until color is even.

3. Grate the cheese and throw into the mix.

4. Chop garlic into thins slices, sautée on low heat and a healthy amount of olive oil. When slightly golden and see through, take them off the pan for a bit

5. Turn the heat up to almost max and Pour in frozen or thawed veggie bacon. Stir nicely and fry for a few minutes until color become slightly darker.

6. Add garlic and well-mixed cheese/cream/egg combo, turn heat down to middle level, let prepare for a while while periodically mixing.

7. Add about 10 squeezes of ground pepper.

8. Boil pasta (In AMPLE water with a couple ot tablespoons of sea salt and some oil. Mix together with sauce.

9. Feast

Since its a bit heavy, I would recommend a light salad on the side.