Jade: Bitemyaglioglio

I love love love garlic. I like it raw, minced and soaked in light soy sauce, ready to be piled on to bits of anything; I adore it roasted and added to soups or simply squeezed onto a thick hunk of crusty french bread; I think bak kut teh isn't worth eating without the beautifully soft heads of garlic braised whole in herby broth; and if I could eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be blanched greens, drizzled with oyster sauce, topped with heaps of deep fried garlic chips. I probably won't have a lot of friends left at the end of it but sometimes, sacrifices have to be made in the name of true love ;)

Spaghetti aglio olio

100g spaghetti

3 cloves garlic minced

olive oil

chili flakes

bacon ( optional- use prawns if you prefer, I just happened to have some bacon lying around)

parsley fine chopped ( from my window box!!! funny story ~ remember the plants on my window sill? well the one thing I forgot to factor in when I so enthusiastically bought them was the fact that I'm actually away most of the time...we did a trial where i watered them to death on the weekends hoping it would then hydrate them enough for the week....that fell a little flat..so now my plants live..and I use the term 'live' loosely..in the kitchen..like little green beggars who are at the mercy of my housemates. I just had a sudden vision of how I would be like as a mother....how very disturbing..the end.)

cheese ( parmesan if you have it, I used cheddar as that was the only kind they had in the hospital shop)

1. Bring a pot of well salted water to boil, and cook

your pasta for about 9-10 minutes or till al-dente.

2. In the meantime, heat up some olive oil, and fry the chopped bacon till crispy.

3. Remove the bacon, add a generous drizzle of olive oil to the pan, I would say about 2-3 tablespoons in total, add some salt and chuck in the garlic, careful not to let the garlic brown. What you want is a low heat so the garlic flavours the oil. And the reason I add the salt to the oil is just for a more even distribution.

4. Add the chopped parsley and chili flakes, give it a quick stir.

5. Add the drained pasta to the pan, toss with the garlic mix, season a bit more to taste and plate.

6.Sprinkle the crispy bacon bits on the pasta and top with lots and lots of grated cheese.

7. Do a graceful twirl with your fork, making sure you get a bit of everything..all that savoury, garlicky goodness...it's always the simple things in life that make you the happiest, isn't it ;)