I think no can help but think of pasta when one catches a glimpse of any Italian movie (or any film shot in Italy). Of course there’s a lot more to Italian cuisine than pasta but I’m just citing an example. The film I recently enjoyed was Sunset in Tuscany. I find the lovely and beautiful Diane Lane to be the right actress to have played Frances Mayes. Although my favourite character is the one played by Raoul Bova. In the movie there was a period in Frances’ life where she cooked an array of Italian dishes for the crew whom she had hired to renovate her Tuscan Villa and I found myself contemplating what to cook next. I had a lot of ideas and was very much excited to make them until I realized I only had spaghetti and olive oil in the pantry. Oh no, I was dismayed, a little bit. Just a bit.
So here goes my simple yet delectable and very fulfilling Aglia e Olio (with ham and asparagus tips)
I used:
175 grams spaghetti
3-5 tbsp olive oil
5-6 tbsp minced red garlic
Salt, to taste
¼ cup cubed ham, fried till crisp
1/3 cup fresh asparagus tips
Procedure:
1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions but make sure to add more salt than necessary, think sea water salty.
2. Meanwhile, in a pan, heat olive oil then fry minced garlic until brown and aromatic. (Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add into the olive oil and garlic. This is already good enough just like the dish is called Garlic and Oil. However…)
3. To continue, I added the cubed ham and asparagus tips into the olive oil and garlic THEN added the pasta. Tossed it some more to combine the ingredients well and served it immediately.
The salty water used to make the pasta really tasty and when added to the rest of the ingredients makes it the tastiest and perhaps the simplest pasta dish .

So anyways, back to the movie. To those who’ve watched it if I may ask, Do you like the lady bug anecdote like I did? I’ve always been fascinated with lady bugs because they remind me of intricately designed tiny jewel. Now it will surely remind of intricately designed tiny jewel and patience. Sweet isn’t it? Also I loved the movie because it featured a field of sunflowers! Hmm, let’s see what else did I like…I can’t remember right now but if I’ve time I might add it to this post.
In addition I wish to apologize for not posting as regularly as I have in the past. I’ve assisted in rebuilding a space into a tiny place where we cook and serve drinks and meals. I also became friends with an adorable little boy named Shem. I was also pre occupied with my hair accessories business and was very busy designing and making bracelets, necklaces and earrings (to be posted in Zo! Faboloux!).
I do have time to post but I didn’t. Oh and thank you for all those who visited while I was away.