Tuna spaghetti and toast bring cooking mojo back!

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Spaghetti!“Wifey, will you cook pasta?,” asked my husband as we were planning our New Year’s eve dinner. My lazy bones wanted to scream “No!”, my clogged nose wanted to say “Uh-uh!”, but my heart won over those two sickly body parts and said, “Of course!” Cooking took a huge backseat for me in ’08, going against that year’s resolution of cooking more. I plan to make that resolution come to life this ’09, so New Year’s Eve was a good way to rekindle my cooking mojo.

So out of the cupboard came the spaghetti and ingredients for my sauce. The sauce I made was very simple.

Pasta SauceI sauteed half a white onion until it almost caramelized, threw in about five cloves of chopped garlic, stirred in two cans of tuna. I let the flavors simmer for awhile, let them get to know each other, la dee dah. Then I mixed in some olives and capers, followed by a can of tomato and basil spaghetti sauce, and a sprinkle of sugar, salt and pepper. Stir, simmer, stir, simmer. I simmered the sauce for about twenty minutes total so all the flavors could really blend together.

The pasta was a success, much to my relief. I couldn’t smell anything during the cooking process (clogged nose, right!) so I had to ask H to taste the sauce twice. Apparently I did something right because it tasted great. Maybe I should cook with a clogged nose more often.

Toasted BreadAnd what’s pasta without garlic bread? In a pan, melt butter. Throw in as much chopped garlic as you want. When almost golden, throw in sliced bread. Turn over when buttered side is toasted to your liking. Toast some more. I could have used a toaster oven, but I found more joy doing this. H enjoyed the toasted garlic bread a lot, a lot more than if I had used my toaster oven I’m sure.

We brought the extra pasta and sauce to my in-laws the next day. My Mom-in-law said she and my brother-in-law enjoyed it. Since they’re both pasta lovers, that was a fabulous compliment that made my heart soar.

So yeah, that lost cooking mojo is slowly finding its way back. A home-cooked meal, heart trumping sick bones and a clogged nose, affirmation for a dish I enjoyed preparing — what a good way to welcome the new year!

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.

10 Comments on Tuna spaghetti and toast bring cooking mojo back!

  1. odette
    January 6, 2009 at 1:02 am (15 years ago)

    awww, congratulations! i’m glad your cooking mojo was back! :)
    i can fully attest to the power of love overcoming our laziness, inhibitions, fears and even sickly body parts. i miss tuna, so i’ll be making tuna sauce this week too, in honor of your cooking mojo that found its way back on new year’s eve. :)
    cheers to more cooking episides!!!

    odettes last blog post..fitting room chronicles

    I’m glad it’s back! Over the holidays, I forced myself to cook eggs. Haha. Just to ease the cooking mojo back. Then the opportunity to make pasta came. Now I’m excited to cook other dishes too! And ooh, enjoy your tuna sauce!

    Reply
  2. Kay
    January 6, 2009 at 1:32 am (15 years ago)

    That looked so yummy! Nagutom ako … and I’m on a diet ha …

    Healthy naman ‘to because there’s no meat, no MSG and just a little bit of salt 😉

    Reply
  3. kat
    January 6, 2009 at 2:54 am (15 years ago)

    happy new year toni-tones!
    wow! the sauce looks delish –reminds of a puttanesca sauce. i’ll have to try tuna next time since i’ve never had it! like you, i aim to do more cooking this year!

    p.s. did you get the card i emailed you?

    kats last blog post..happy 2009!

    Katty Kat! :) Yup, we used tuna to be healthier. And nope, didn’t get the card :(

    Reply
  4. sheng
    January 6, 2009 at 8:38 am (15 years ago)

    Very nice, I made some pancit canton too, it was super cool din, alam ko, kasi naubos agad.

    shengs last blog post..My Baby is Now Three

    Mmm pancit canton!!!

    Reply
  5. Gay
    January 6, 2009 at 11:54 am (15 years ago)

    We also had tuna pasta for the New Year. Nothing beats cooking for your loved ones, diba?

    Gays last blog post..Pinoy klasiks: kaldereta

    So true Gay :)

    Reply
  6. Jeanny
    January 6, 2009 at 2:24 pm (15 years ago)

    Your cooking ulit. Very Nice. To be honest I kinda miss your cooking entries :)

    I havent cook spaghetti in ages, parang na miss ko :)

    Jeannys last blog post..Dj’s Day

    Thanks for letting me know Jeanny. That’s very encouraging. 😀 I’ll be cooking more this year. I’ll post accounts of even the simplest dishes I make!

    Reply
  8. Shai Coggins
    January 9, 2009 at 8:03 pm (15 years ago)

    Congrats on getting your cooking mojo back! :-) And, I wish you many more in 2009. :-)

    Shai Cogginss last blog post..Web Wednesday #18: The Return!

    Thank you Shai! I need all the encouragement I can get! 😀

    Reply

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