Ruth's Penne Ala Creme Fungi

Wokay, I just have LOADS to improve on when it comes to naming a dish...ahaha...

I went into the crazee mode of wanting to cook. I had no plans for the weekend & needed something to fill up my time. Besides, I found out that there was just so much food stuff in the fridge (that needs some clearing up) & in the cupboards too!! So, here's what I managed to gather & plan out: pasta for dinner!

Oh yeah, I also managed to plan out a soup to go with it...ahaha....and besides, it's my mum's birthday on the 22nd of April, so I thought I'll make this a special treat for her as well (I haven't been cooking up a storm for a long time!)

NOTE: All recipes (measurements & directions) by Ruth may not be accurate cos Ruth doesn't adhere to such measurements...she goes by 'feel' & 'taste'.

Penne ala Creme Fungi - serves 5

Ingredients:
300g penne
1 jar (650ml, I think) of Dolmio Mushrooms & Herbs white sauce
1 can button mushrooms, sliced (chop some up for a more chunky pasta feel)
1 can abalone mushrooms, sliced
3 sausages, sliced
1 tbsp of chopped garlic
1 1/2 tbsp of mixed Italian herbs
1 tbsp of ground black pepper
1 slice of cheddar cheese
Cooking oil
Salt & pepper to taste

The ingredients for the pasta

Directions:

1. Cook pasta as per directions on the packet.
2. Remove pasta from pot, drain, & place into a big bowl.
3. Add a little bit of butter into pasta & mix well to avoid pasta from sticking together. Add 1tsp of mixed Italian Herbs & mix the herbs well with the pasta (makes pasta more fragrant). Leave the pasta one side.
4. Heat up sauce pan/wok. When the pan is heated up, add 1tbsp of cooking oil into pan.
5. As the oil heats up, add in garlic & fry 'til fragrant.
6. Add in the sausages & fry them until slightly brown (nicely brown).
7. Remove garlic & sausages from pan & leave aside.
8. Add 1tbsp of cooking oil, & add the chopped button mushrooms, followed by the sliced button mushrooms & sliced abalone mushrooms.
9. Stir-fry the mushroom for about 2 minutes.
10. Add in the Dolmio Mushrooms & Herbs white sauce into the pan/wok & mix it well with the mushrooms.
11. Add the ground black pepper & mixed Italian herbs into the sauce, stirring it for 2-3 minutes.
12. Leave the sauce to boil.
13. Optional: Add 1 slice of cheddar cheese into the sauce (to give it a more "cheesy" taste), & leave to cook for another 2 minutes.
14. Turn off flame & the sauce is ready!
15. Scoop penne onto plate, then scoop one ladle-full of sauce onto the penne. Top the pasta with the fried sausages & serve!
    

Penne ala Creme Fungi with garlic bread for the borscht

Everybody in the family had a complete set meal for dinner!

Ruth's Borscht with "Chinese-touch" (tomato paste-based vegetable soup) - serves 5

Ingredients:
1 medium Cabbage, cut (I used Chinese cabbage cos I didn't have cabbage in my house)
3 medium Carrots, cut horizontally/round (Ruth's style is lenth-wise)
2 medium Tomatoes, cut
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 medium bottle of ketchup (if u can add tomato paste of some sort, it'll be nicer)
Salt, sugar, pepper powder to taste

Directions:
Note: This style of cooking is to have the veggie cook faster & softer. The conventional style of cooking soup is to boil the water first before adding the ingredients.

1. Heat up wok & put in 1tbsp of cooking oil.
2. Add chopped garlic & fry 'til fragrant.
3. Add the carrots & stir-fry for 2 minutes/'til it's slightly softer.
4. Add in cabbage & continue to fry for another 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes into the wok & mix the ingredients together, frying it for a 2-3 minutes.
6. Pour 6 rice-bowls of water one after another into the wok.
7. Allow the soup to boil.
8. As the soup begins to boil, turn the flame lower & add the tomato sauce/pasta/puree, stirring it into the soup.
9. Add in salt, sugar, & pepper to taste, according to individual preference.
10. Leave the soup to boil.
11. Turn off flame & the borscht is ready to be served!

Ingredients for Ruth's Borscht

My sister & I also made some honeydew pudding as the 'cake' for my mum. We found 1 packet of this in the house, so we happily used it :P Can't remember what's the brand of the pudding, but it's relatively easy to make- just follow the directions on the packet itself! :P

Cooking the pudding

The pudding 'cake' for my mum! (my sister made that little banner!!)

I had a GREAT time preparing the meal & I'm so proud of myself!! *lol* It's just nice to cook a meal for my family, especially my parents who've been working hard :)

Coming up, more food, more fun!!

- Ruth