Fettucine Al Funghi

Rob and I decided to make Fettuchine Al Funghi for dinner on Saturday night. We decided to make our own pasta, so the margharita remained in the cupboard. The pasta making episode turned out to be rather unpleasant with both of us acting like we were pasta making grandmas from
Naples whose expertise was unsurpassed. An argument ensued, with Rob calling me, ‘a real idiot’, and me retorting, ‘whatever, Mr Pasta Expert.’ 

Nonetheless, I stonily finished off pasta after Rob had left the kitchen in a huff.  

After cutting up the mushrooms, onion, and garlic (six cloves, mmm attractive) we sauteed them in butter. Rob had returned by this time; the man hands in the photo aren’t mine!  

We then added three quarters of a bottle of cream and some chopped parsley, and bon appetit!  

It ended up being really nice, home made pasta makes a huge difference. I had used low fat cream which was a mistake, it could have been creamier and didn’t thicken up well – I had to stir in some flour. 7/10

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Mediterranean Wholesalers

Rob and I trotted off to the Mediterranean Wholesalers  (482-492 Sydney Road, Brunswick) this morning to check it out. Two friends had recommended it to me recently- one of them advising me to ‘bring a large trolley’.

I must say, that place is a food lover’s dream. Set up just like a supermarket, MW sells food (and a small amount of non-food items) from all over Europe, but mainly Italy and the Mediterranean. Prices are cheap compared to what you would pay in speciality shops elsewhere in Melbourne. If you’re into pasta, there is a whole aisle dedicated to it as well as a huge range of cheeses, bottled and canned goods and a multitude of other things. MW also includes a great deli, bottle shop, bakery, and a small cafe.

 After heading over to MSY so Rob could buy some computer stuff, we headed back to Sydney Rd to the A1 Bakery (643 Sydney Road, Brunswick) which is recommended in the Cheap Eats Guide. A quick google search will reveal rave reviews all over the net. I had the spinach and fetta triangle and Rob had the shamasomething which was a kind of savoury pastry with tomato, onion, and cheese in it. Both were great and came to $6.

It must have been over 35 degrees by this time, so after a couple more errands we carted our food home. Below are probably my favourite purchases (we spent $120)

Pasta:

Bottled stuff (included the mysterious ‘explosive mixture’):

Ingredients for tonight’s dinner (Margherita Al Funghi – Margherita being the pasta type above):

One of the best things I’ve eaten was a simple spaghetti al funghi at Tiamo in Lygon Street, so we’ll be attempting to recreate it’s garlicy, creamy goodness tonight for dinner thanks to the Mediterranean Wholesalers! Stay tuned!

Recipe Books don’t materialise out of nowhere you know!

Welcome to post no. 1, readers!

A little preparation has gone into this blog prior to its launch.

I have been a busy person collecting all of my recipes that were floating around and compiling one ENORMOUS cookbook called Rachael’s Recipe Collection (RRC) which Rob, my boyfriend, has mocked for its imaginative title many times over.

You’ve guessed it you smart readers, my name is Rachael and I love cooking. I also love writing, but find it easier to waffle on about cooking than anything else.Mostly ignoring my love for cooking literature, I am currently struggling to write ‘a futuristic thriller set on deathrow’ (that’s the one sentence synopsis, or couldn’t you tell 😉 ) and am restricting my writing about cooking to this blog only.

Anyway, back to my ‘cook’ preparation. I have made a cookbook out of ALL of my recipes.  

 

 

 This collection totals about 500. The recipes come from:

• Suggestions or comments by members of forums (usually Vogue forum!)
• Searches on recipe databases due to something sparking my interest
• Photocopies of recipes collected by my mum over the last 30 years. (thank you Weekly Times newspaper and Woman’s Weekly – my mum and I both love you)
• Recipes collected during on of my ‘foodfads’ (which result in recipes, one following the other, such as: Very Quick Vegetable Curry, Frugal Lentil and Veggie Curry, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Veggie Rice Curry. When I get into something I really get into it!
• Photocopies out of cookbooks that I have borrowed off people or from the library.
• Pages surrepticiously torn out of magazines at the doctors (yes I can occasionally be one of the those evil people if I like a recipe enough)
• Handwritten recipes which even I have trouble reading (Even I cant read my own writing after a week, it’s so awful)

Anyway – the cookbook is ready and in the next week ill be selecting a recipe at random to make. Can’t wait!