Broke Food - Pasta with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Red Pepper Flakes

Simple dishes can often be some of the tastiest and most filling.  Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino fits that bill.  Translated, that means spaghetti with garlic, oil, and red pepper flakes. Its rich flavors combined with pasta make this a decadent yet inexpensive dish to prepare.  

It can be eaten alone as a filling but light main dish.  It can also be be topped with grilled chicken, cooked Italian sausage, or other meat.  It also makes an excellent side dish to serve alongside other vegetables or meats.  

Sunday, when I was doing blog posts, this was my lunch!  It was tasty and filling but light enough that I did not feel like I had eaten a heavy meal.   

The recipe located HERE is similar to the method I was taught and as listed below. 

Spaghetti With Garlic, Oil, and Red Pepper Flakes

7 ounces of spaghetti
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced (substitute garlic powder in a pinch)
1 1/2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes
1/4 to 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil (may use canola or other oil in a pinch)
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

The measurements in this recipe can be shifted depending on your taste preferences.

1. Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package, until it is al dente.
2. Strain spaghetti and place in a large serving dish.
3. Add minced garlic, chili pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and mix together well.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Awesomeness of Community Cookbooks

I have a love affair with community cookbooks.  What is a community cookbook?  These are usually cookbooks put together as fundraisers for churches, boy scouts, PTA groups, or made for families and friends to share and sold locally in a community.  They contain some great, down-home recipes that are easily made from ingredients already in your cupboard and usually don't list some weird ingredient that is only going to be used for this particular recipe and costs more than all remaining ingredients put together. (Who keeps fermented Yak milk around anyway?)

These recipes are hearty, often feed a lot of people, are pleasing to the eye and palate, and are shared by folks who know how to get a meal on the table.  Some of my very favorite, tried-and-true recipes are from these books and range from appetizers, salads, and main courses to cakes, cookies, and just some generally fun stuff like Karo syrup finger paint for kids.  

Anyone who knows me knows I love these, and with the internet being so popular, they are harder and harder to find.  I always look for them if I go to garage sales or estate sales and have quite a collection. After a while, you begin to recognize names in the cookbooks and know the recipe associated with that name is going to be a winner.  The photo above shows some of my favorites, but I have many more.  I treasure my collection and hope to share some of the recipes from these books (with credit to the cook, of course), along with some of my own recipes in the near future.