Meat Ball and Spaghetti.. all covered in Cheese!

Well I might be fibbing in the title just a little, this recipe does not contain meat balls, it is however good old fashioned spag bol. Everyone that I know has their own take on Spaghetti, it has feed many of us through years of University and bachelor hood, it has soothed our cravings for comfort and eased our heads after a big night out, we reheat it the next day and make toasted sandwiches from it. Some of us like to use Spaghetti simmer sauces, others, like myself like to create our spaghetti from scratch.

I don't know how long spaghetti has been a staple meal of thousands of families across the world, I can tell you that I have been creating it since a teenager, forever experimenting as to create the perfect batch of noodle slurping goodness. After a crazy day at work recently and finishing a little earlier than normal on a Sunday afternoon my husband and I decided that spaghetti would be the perfect easy meal for our tired family. As I delved deep into the abyss of my freezer like a carnivore in hunt of its prey I found a surprise tray of minced beef, I pull it from it's frozen waist land and gently defrosted it in our trusty microwave.

Whilst our surprise package of minced beef was being buzzed in a circular motion in our trusty tool of modern technology my husband and I diced an onion, minced an excessive amount of garlic and picked from our garden fresh, basil, lemon thyme, oregano, parsley and spanish sage. We browned the onion and garlic in a large heavy based saucepan and once defrosted we added the star of the dish, the minced beef. When the beef had browned and it appeared to be cooked we added a large tin of tomatoes, and half a jar of tomato paste that gave the dish a thick, rich appearance, to that we added a good splosh of red wine, unfortunately we had to sacrifice a glass or two of a 6 year old bottle of merlot that we had been drinking sparingly over the course of the previous day. Once the tomatoes appeared to be disintegrating we added half a diced egg plant, an amazing vegetable when added to other flavors, the flesh, like the tinned tomatoes disintegrates in the pot and adds a wondrous texture and flavor to the completed dish, last but not least we add a grated carrot, some salt and pepper, with a sprinkle of my secret ingredient celery salt. We allow our creation to simmer away for half an hour, at this time we pop garlic bread in the oven to cook. Now is the perfect time to boil water, thats right, you guessed it, in another heavy based pot. We add to it some cooking salt, and a small amount of olive oil, it has been brought to my attention that it is no longer the done thing to add oil to pasta as it cooks, it is apparently un nessacary, I believe that it still makes a difference and, being a creature of habit I will keep doing so until the day I am dead and buried. Once the water is bubbling away I add to it good pasta, you can taste the difference and it makes your meal that little more special, we boil it until it is aldente and rinse it in hot water as to prevent it from sticking together.

We scoop the pasta into bowls, we top it with a generous amount of spaghetti sauce, some grated cheddar cheese and place by it's side a piece or two of crunchy garlic bread.

In our family this meal is traditionaly eaten on the couch, it is what we call a "lazy meal" and eaten whilst listening as David Attinbrough narates one of his wild adventures from lands unbeknown to us.

This particular attempt was as I say every time that I make spaghetti "the best batch I have ever made", I think it was the extra love of a second pair of hands that added to the goodness. Spaghetti is a heart felt dish, it reminds many of us of growing up, of meals that mum makes and awakeness memories of leaving home and learning to fend for ourselves, it is easy to make and satisfying, it is also different in every household I have ever visited.

Today's challenge is to dust off your spaghetti recipe, if you don't have one I'll let you phone a friend. Make a batch and slurp the noodles into your mouth whilst watching a documentry on the telly. Until then, happy cooking adventures to you all and remember that you don't know how it will turn out until you give it a go!