Crazy Carbonara

It was the weekend before payday and my wallet was on the ultimate diet so impulsive spending was totally out of the question. Don't get me wrong. I do keep careful tabs of my purchases but sneaky slips of irrational yet irresistible impulses to pick something off the shelf I don't really need sometimes just gets the better of me. So to avoid that, I decided to confine myself within the four walls of the unit I am presently inhabiting for the time being until I find my own space. I also made a decision to fix myself something for lunch and dinner using stuff that I could find within the nooks and crannies of our little kitchen. No takeouts or deliveries for me this time nor was I to go on a trip to the grocery for needed ingredients. I had to content myself with what was available to me at that time, and it wasn't much, since my diet was also delicate given the fact that I only can take fish, veggies and fruits, hence the challenge. So, what was my creative culinary mind able to concoct? 

As I ransacked the cupboards and the fridge, I came across one small can of evaporated milk, danggit and cream of mushroom soup. Then I saw spaghetti noodles stashed away on a high shelf and I thought to myself I could make carbonara if I only had tuna and more evaporated milk. But I didn't. Then I suddenly remembered this one time when I went to a restaurant in Kamuning with a friend that served tuyo spaghetti and I thought, well, why not make use of the danggit? As for the additional evaporated milk that I needed, as incredibly insane as it seems, I went for my nephew's Nido powedered milk. Yes, I know it sounds crazy but I was in desperate need of a dairy substitute otherwise, I would lack in sauce. So I fried the danggit, made crunchy bits out of it and set it aside. Then I mixed the cream of mushroom soup, the one small evaporated milk that I had and added a cup and a half of already mixed with water Nido milk in one pot and simmered until the sauce thickened. Once done, I poured the sauce over the spaghetti noodles, sprinkled with danggit bits on top and viola! My crazy danggit carbonara.

The sauce was deliciously rich and tasty considering there was no butter  and cheese to support its amazing flavor and the bits of salty danggit peppered on top of the sauce and noodles complemented the dish perfectly. It was savory with a hint of the sweet and salty making the marriage of flavors undeniably magic. I paired this delectable discovery with a red because that was the wine available to me and I had a feast. It was palate pleaser all the way.

Evaporated milk or full cream milk is staple in making carbonara. But for the lactose intolerant and for the lot minding the calories that come with this particular dairy, soy milk like Vita may be used as a healtier substitute.

Sometimes, one only has to go outside of the box and open his eyes and his taste buds

to even the most ridiculous combinations that could actually prove to be fantastic finds. Doing the traditional is good but to go experimental and take the opposite route, mixing and matching what you never thought would hit off could actually be the perfect fit. You only have to try. Divine, scrumptious and lip-smackingly good. This is definitely absurdity at its best.