Monday 20 August 2012

Mushroom Aglio Olio



Aglio Olio.

It sounds so fancy and impressive, is delicious, and the best of all, it's extremely easy and fast to make.

So, if you're thinking of whipping up a quick dinner for your friends or your family, or your boyfriend's family (haha!), why don't you try this easy recipe?



There are so many kinds of aglio olio you can make. The name literally means 'garlic and oil' in Italian. So to keep it authentic, I guess you just need to flavour your olive oil with garlic by some light stir-frying in the pan for a few minutes before adding whatever you want to your pasta dish. ^^

The family was really hungry when I got home from work. It was a lazy rainy evening. My mum was really tired and had no inspiration to cook that night. My brother was hungry but did not feel like eating out. I was actually feeling a little lazy, but I had this urge to cook for my family. It was getting really late though, so I wanted to make something quick yet something different and special for a change. So, mushroom aglio olio it was~! ^^ Here are the ingredients!



Ingredients (Makes 3~4 servings):

- 232g elbow macaroni
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 100g mushrooms, washed and sliced (I used shiitake because those were the only shrooms I could find in my fridge. Feel free to use any other mushrooms you like. ^^)
- 3 dried chillies, milled coarsely, or 1tbsp of chilli flakes (optional)
- 40g fresh parsley, milled coarsely, or 1 tbsp of parsley flakes (optional)
- sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- juice of 1/2 a lemon (optional)


1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to instructions on package. Drain and set aside pasta in a large pot/bowl. Reserve a small cup of pasta water.

2. In a medium-sized saucepan over a medium flame, heat olive oil. Add garlic and chilli flakes. Saute for about 3 minutes until garlic turns a light golden brown. Add mushrooms. Saute for about 6~8minutes.

3. When there is a lovely fragrance, turn off the stove. Be careful not to burn your garlic~

4. Pour all ingredients in the pan to the pot/bowl of pasta. Toss pasta in this oily mixture. Add parsley flakes. Toss some more. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Toss some more. Drizzle more olive oil if you find your pasta too dry.

5. Garnish with a fresh stalk of parsley. Beautiful! You may drizzle some lemon juice over your pasta too just to give it an extra oomph. :)



Easy isn't it? My family polished everything off and raved about it. Totally worth it~! ^^

Enjoy~!!


Thursday 16 August 2012

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Sorry for the long hiatus over here in my blog! I was feeling rather down and uninspired to write since my last post here. I updated everyday on my facebook page though, and I'm really happy to see new people on my facebook page from all over the world! I really wish one day I can meet everyone here~~ ^^


Well, anyway!

Despite me feeling blue for the past month, I've been trying my best to bring cheer to my other friends with my baked goods at that same time~! ^^

I've made peanut butter cookies, lemon drop cookies, very dark chocolatey cookie balls and so on~!

They are all very delicious, and today I'm going to share what was a huge hit with my friends and family!

These are classic peanut butter cookies and as you can see, they don't look exactly pretty. Hahaha! Oh but who cares when they are so delicious! They are fragrant and moist on the inside, yum yum!

I used Skippy's Creamy Peanut Butter. I'd wanted to get Chunky because I just love to bite on things, haha, but I grabbed the wrong bottle. -____-"

If you are very particular about the food you put into your tummy, go ahead and grab some organic and pure peanut butter~ ^^ If yours is just pure peanut butter without other added additives (read the ingredients list!), do add some salt into this recipe. A pinch or 2 will do. 






Ingredients (Makes about 20 cookies):

- 3 tbsp water + 1 tbsp flaxseed meal (or 1 egg, beaten)
- 150g all-purpose flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 150g peanut butter
- 50g raw sugar
- 50g brown sugar
- 40g shortening / refined coconut oil (if using this, measure 40g of the coconut oil in its liquid form as the 1st step and pop it into the freezer until you need to use it)



1. Preheat oven to 180℃. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, sugars, and shortening (or solidified coconut oil). Scrape down the sides, then beat in the flaxseed mixture (or egg).



4. Stir in (2) until thoroughly combined.

5. Use a small ice cream scoop and drop the dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared sheets. If you do not have an ice cream scoop, you can use your hands, grab a piece of dough, and roll it into a ball, and place them onto the lined sheets.

6. Using a fork, press the cookies down in a criss-cross pattern.

7. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the tops no longer look wet. Be careful not to overbake!



8. Transfer cookies to cooling racks and wait for them to cool before storing them in pretty glass bottles or cookie containers~! ^^



These cookies can keep for up to 5 days in room temperature in an airtight container, or freeze for up to 3 months. ^^

I hope you enjoy them! They are so very delicious, easy-to-make, and make great gifts for friends!




Choose to buy organic refined coconut oil if using it to bake. The unrefined one has a strong coconut taste and smell, which you might not want or like in your baked goods. ^^

Where to buy:


Currently, I'm using this one and I got mine from Organic Sunny's Choice at The Rail Mall. You will be able to find many other excellent choices of coconut oil in selected Cold Storage supermarkets, Yes Natural organic shops, and other healthfood/organic stores, and even Indian provision shops. 

Coconut oil is just lovely. It's the only non-meat oil that can be solidified naturally in lower temperatures. ^^ Read about the other awesome use of coconut oil here!



Random, but I wonder if anyone missed this blog's updates at all. Probably not, because there are so many blogs out there to keep you entertained, and this blog hasn't been particularly entertaining I guess. Hahaha! But well, anyway, remember to like Happy Girls Cute Food on Facebook if you like reading my updates. I update there everyday with recipes, food porn (haha!), and some nice fashion for girls. So, check it out, and like the page if you like it! ^^


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