Pasta With Sundried Tomatoes, Rosemary and Pinenuts

First time when we went to Italy, we travelled around , well not all over Italy but we did went to couple of places as we where there for 15 days.
And when we were in Rome we went to this shop filled with lots of goodies and there we bought few packs of sundried tomatoes ,and when we came back home I added some into olive oil and from that time onewards I always have a bottle in my kitchen shelf.

And then we went back to Rome as a specail treat for Shyama as she got 18 and we went back to the same shop and bought a whole load of sundried tomatoes.

I do have to admit they are almost finished ( well still have two packs left).

So the first trip we went, Hans took us the second evening to a restaurant as he had been to this place during one of his concert trips and according to him the food was super yumm.
I do have to agree to him, the food there was so good that we went back to the same place couple of evening and then when we made the trip to Rome again we went to the same place again for few times, so the last evening we went to this place again and the owner of the shop offered us free drinks as she said you all have been comming here so many times.
But then Hans would disagree he would say she only gave the free dirnks becaus he was so charming to her :-) and to that I replied to him you cann be charming as much as you want as long as I get free drinks :-)

Ok so this Rosemary-Sundried pasta I ate there and I fell in love with it and I remember ordering it again while we went there.
When we got back home I wanted to recreate the dish here at home and that is exactly what I did.
So the recip is not from a book or magazine , I just created it according to how it tasted when I ate it.
Oh and it is really good as I have been laking this pasta for the last 3 year

Another reason to have this post is because Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen, which I am certain most of you will know her through her wonderful and beautiful blog, is starting with photography Excersie.
Which I think is a wonderful idea, and every month she will be giving new excercise.
So if you are intrested in improving your photographic skills which I am sure you all are, then do participate.
You will find the information here

I do have to say I took the pictures before I read the whole post in detail, so I didn't use a tripod. So you can see the two pictures are not taken in the exact position that will teach me to read the whole detail than hurrying up with the project.
The left side pic f / 4.5  ,  Shutterspeed 1/125s and ISO is 200
The right side pic f / 2 , Shutterspeed 1/ 500s and ISO is 200

I always take my pictures near to a huge window, especially as it is still dark and dull weather here so I get enough light , also use a white board on left side to reflect the light.

Now to the recipe.
For 3 person:
300 gm dry pasta
4 to 5 tbsp sundried tomatoes slices ( don't slice them thin, slice them in chunks)
Couple of sprigs of Rosamary ( you might think it is too much while you make the sauce it won't be, it is to flavour the sauce and while eating the dish you pick out most of it)
2 to 3  large onion chopped
6 to 8 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves finley chopped
1 tsp chilie flakes or according to your taste ( i usually add more)
Couble of  tbsp fresh parsley chopped
2 to 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
Pepper and salt to taste
1/4 cup grated paremesaan cheese.More if you love cheese like in my family so i would opt for more :-)

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions fry for few minutes add the chillie flakes and garlic and fry for a minute or two.
Add the rosemary and parsley,  sundried tomatoes salt and pepper. Fry for few  minute.

In the mean time cook the pasta according to the packet and drain , I always keep a cup of pasta water aside.
Add the pasta, few tablspoon of cheese and the pinenuts to the pan and mix everything together. If the mix is too dry add a couple of tbsp of pasta water to loosen it up.
Serve  sprinkling with the parmesan cheese.
I also usually add a tbsp of olive oil on each plate before serving too.

Belgium Waffles

I know it is a while I posted something here as some of you know , my two nieces were here with us for a month holiday from India.
So I have been busy with them and taking them to places. In this one month we went to see places in Holland, France, Germany and ofcourse in Belgium.
So it has been very busy.
I did indulge them in my cooking and baking, just didn't had time to take pictures of the dishes, In the time they were here I could only take pics of these Waffles and then of the Macarons I made for them.
For the rest it was all gobbled up fast :-) or no time to take a picture.
I have posted Waffle when I started my blog, but then as I made these for my nieces I thought I will take new pictures and blog them again.
You want to see step by step pictures you can see in my old post, I have been using this recipe now for years and it always come out perfect.

A waffle is a batter or dough-based cake cooked in a waffle iron patterned to give a distinctive and characteristic shape. There are many variations based on the type and shape of the iron and the recipe used.
The modern waffle has its origins in the wafers—very light thin crisp cakes baked between wafer irons—of the Middle Ages in the Province of Brabant (modern-day Belgium)

Wafer irons consisted of two metal plates connected by a hinge, with each plate connected to an arm with a wooden handle. The iron was placed over a fire and flipped to cook both sides of the wafer. The irons were used to produce a variety of different flat, unleavened cakes, usually from a mixture of barley and oats, instead of the white flour used today.

 Brussels waffles, is generally, but not always, lighter, thicker, and crispier and has larger pockets compared to other waffle varieties.
They are easy to differentiate from Liège Waffles by their rectangular sides.
In Belgium, most waffles are served warm by street vendors and dusted with confectioner's sugar though in tourist areas they might be topped with whipped cream, soft fruit or chocolate spread (a practice considered 'unauthentic' by some local conoisseurs

Despite their name, 'Brussels waffles' were actually invented in Ghent in 1839. They were introduced to America by restaurateur Maurice Vermersch, who sold his Brussels waffles under the name "Bel-Gem Waffles" at New York's 1964 World's Fair.

100 gm Butter melted
1 litre Buttermilk
500 gm flour
3 eggs
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp sugar
Half tbsp of soda bi carbonate.

For serving: Powder sugar
Butter

Method:
Mix everything together and make the waffers. I use my hand mixer to mix everything so that there is no lumb in the batter.
Heat the waffle machine ( it has to be really hot) pour few table spoon of the batter and close the lid, cook it for few minutes and take them out.
Spread butter and sprinkle wih sugar and enjoy.
I do admit when I make waffle at home, I will be in the kitchen making them and serving them to my family straight from the waffle iron.
It is something you have to eat it warm, so serve to your family/guest directly.