Spaghetti with Asparagus, Egg, and Parmesan: a Mutant Freak of Deliciousness

Though I’m cooking more often now, creating my own recipes continues to scare the living daylights out of me. My self-spawned dishes tend to be three-out-of-five star affairs, meaning they’re servable, but won’t necessarily knock your socks off. See, I’m still mastering certain techniques (read: all of them), and find pairing flavors tougher than Advanced Calculus. (Hey, if mathematicians had to eat their results, they’d have never picked up calculators in the first place.)

So, when I invent something that actually works, it’s like … it’s like … hm … how to express this without resorting to hyperbole?

Oh! I have it. It’s like riding a golden unicorn over a rainbow while world peace breaks out in the background. Or U2 playing an acoustic gig in my living room as I’m hand-fed chocolate-covered strawberries by Raoul Bova. Or taking a permanent vacation from my job, but with eternal severance pay and health benefits. (Dare to dream.)

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But it is pretty cool. And today’s recipe, Spaghetti with Asparagus, Egg, and Parmesan, is one of those rare triumphs.

Tuesday night, I was in a spaghetti mood, but had a use-it-or-lose-it pound of asparagus whiling away in the crisper drawer. With no funghi available, Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms was out of the question. So was Roasted Asparagus with Poached Egg and Parmesan, since I reallyreallyreally wanted some pasta. But both recipes fused together? That could work.

And did it EVER. It’s my new favorite comfort food. Creamy and cheesy and asparagus-y, I can see myself eating this over and over again until my death in 2097. (Yes, I’m shooting for 120. Believe in the stars!) And? AND? I would say I could eat 14 bowls of the stuff, but a single serving filled me to the brim.

Of course, should you decide to give it a shot:

1) To cut the fat even further, omit ½ tablespoon olive oil and a little parmesan.

2) Don’t throw out the pasta water. Love it. Be liberal with it. It’s vital to everything.

And that’s it, folks. Have a lovely weekend, and experiment if you get the chance. Occasionally, it’s worth it.

Spaghetti with Asparagus, Egg, and Parmesan
Serves 3

8 oz thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound medium-thin asparagus, rough ends snapped off, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray
3 eggs
½ tablespoon tap water
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
2 dashes cayenne pepper
¼ cup grated parmesan

1) Cook pasta ‘til al dente and drain, reserving ¾ cup of cooking water.

2) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus and saute for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ¼ cooking water and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, until asparagus is crisp-tender.

3) In the meantime, spray a small nonstick pan with cooking spray. Crack three eggs into it, and add ½ tablespoon tap water. Cover and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until the top of the yolks cloud, but are still soft and runny. Remove from heat.

4) When the asparagus is done cooking, add drained pasta to the pan, stirring to reheat if necessary. Off heat, add the remaining ½ cup of cooking water, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir.

5) Ladle pasta into bowls along with 1 tablespoon water/sauce from bottom of pan (or more, if you like). Place egg on top and sprinkle with about 1-1/2 tablespoons parmesan cheese. Break egg, mix everything together, and enjoy.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
446 calories, 13.4 g fat, $1.24

Calculations
8 oz thin spaghetti: 800 calories, 4 g fat, $0.33
1 tablespoon olive oil: 119 calories, 13.5 g fat, $0.12
1 pound medium-thin asparagus: 91 calories, 0.5 g fat, $1.99
Cooking spray: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
3 eggs: 221 calories, 14.9 g fat, $0.55
½ tablespoon tap water: negligible calories and fat, $0.00
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
2 dashes cayenne pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
¼ cup grated parmesan:108 calories, 7.2 g fat, $0.68
TOTAL: 1339 calories, 40.1 g fat, $3.73
PER SERVING (TOTAL/3): 446 calories, 13.4 g fat, $1.24

Benefits of garlic : Manfaat bawang putih

As a complementary addition to cooking, garlic has a major benefit for health. With consume garlic every day, we can reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Here is the main property of the garlic.

- Prevent the growth of cancer cells.
- Helps lower cholesterol level.
- Increase blood insulin for diabetics.
- Disable free radicals that disrupt the body's immune system.
- Helps add appetite when consumed raw.

After a useful, are you still hesitate to consume garlic?

Sariawan: keep mouth disease

mouth disease that is broken may have suffered all the people, on the lips when we feel broken lip acute, not convenient to eat, therefore rather than treat mild prevent broken lips with some tips below:

1. Maintain oral hygiene and health. Simply, that is, with the toothbrush at least twice a day. The morning after eating and sleeping the night before. If we include gum should choose a sensitive toothbrush with a soft feather.

2. Have food that contain fiber such as vegetables and fruit. By eating lots of fiber and fruit, our bodies get akan Feed the body the required nutrition. They also eat the fruit. Fruits contain many vitamins the body needs, including vitamin C.

3. Avoid food that is too hot, too cold, too spicy. Food that is too hot, too cold and too spicy, can cause the gum or mouth sores and cause us in the summer. Should avoid that.

4. Drinking extra vitamins such as vitamin C and B 12, which is not excessive. However, the overproduction is not good for the body. Consumption so that deservedly.

5. Avoid stress. Stress is one of the largest arrival triggered a variety of diseases. Not only just broken mouth disease. So, as much as possible avoid stress.

6. Identify the cause. If we include those who often suffer broken lips, try to identify what about it. Well, from there we can do new with effective prevention.

7. do not consider trivial. There is the possibility of cancer in the mouth cavity of the symptoms are similar to mouth broke out, The speck that is red or white that lasted long or chronic and usually accompanied by swelling in the neck or benjolan. So if we are sick of broken lips kunjung does not recover, do not hesitate and delay the time for immediate further examination.

CHG Favorites of the Week

Food Blog of the Week
Poor Girl Gourmet
Ooo. I only discovered this today, but am already digging it muchly. Think Orangette with a lower budget. Good stuff. (Thanks to Eat Me Daily for the link.)

Food Comedy of the Week
“Asian Chicken Salad” by Margaret Cho
This is an older bit, and startlingly clean for Cho, but pretty dang hilarious nonetheless. When girl's on, she's on.



Food Quote of the Week
“I like to think; I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder – ‘Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?’ I WANT high cholesterol. I wanna eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green Jell-o all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to, okay, pal? I've SEEN the future. Do you know what it is? It's a 47-year-old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake, singing ‘I'm an Oscar Meyer Wiener.’” – Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), Demolition Man

Food Movie Clip of the Week
The dinner scene from Beetlejuice
Fun fact: Catherine O’Hara was Gilda Radner’s understudy at Second City before Gilda left to do SNL. She plays the mom in this clip.



Totally Unrelated Extra Special Bonus of the Week
"Having a Sister Makes You Happier and More Well-Adjusted" at Jezebel
Sisters: doing it for each other. (Awwww.)