A Saturday slattern

I'm having one of those days filled with thoughts that begin, 'I really ought to...'. I really ought to clean the bathroom, for example. The carpet in the living room is looking a little dire, so I really ought to vacuum. I did a load of laundry earlier that I really ought to hang out. There are dishes from dinner last night still sitting in the sink, so I really ought to do them, and if I am completely honest with myself, I really ought to do some lecture prep for Tuesday. Despite this catalogue of things I ought to be doing, I am instead snugly ensconced on the couch with a ever-so-slightly-trashy novel half-listening to the sounds of Michael Caine command Spitfires to British victory over the Channel (A is watching the Battle of Britain).

Another one of the things I thought I ought to do, was post about my spaghetti carbonara experiments. You probably thought I had forgotten (in fact, I seldom forget about things like this that I'm supposed to do, but rather am particularly adept at burying my head in the sand and pushing such thoughts to the very back recesses of my brain. I know they're there - they sit there along with all the other things I'm meant to be doing and am not; building up enough strength in numbers until their presence is so large that I wake at 5am panicked at their sheer volume and realise I must attend to one of them. Anyway...) I had not, in fact, forgotten. I have made a few versions of said carbonara since I first posted about it, and I've come to a number of conclusions about the dish and the process:
#1. Spaghetti is better than linguine for carbonara (linguine is delish but lacks the texture necessary for as heavy a sauce as carbonara)
#2. A mixture of pecorino romano and parmesan is best for flavour - pecorino alone lacks the oomf of parmesan.
#3. Purists might disagree (or gasp in horror) but I think a clove of garlic added to the meat when it is nearly done lifts things considerably. Equally, I think some chopped parsley lightens the dish ever-so slightly and I like that.
#3. If I let the drained pasta sit for a minute in the pot (which I have sitting on the chopping board) before adding the sauce mixture, I can avoid the curdling issue.
#4. I don't really care for pancetta. I think, should I make this again, I will use British smoked streaky bacon. There's just something about Italian cured pork products which just doesn't taste good to me. I can't quite put my finger on what that taste is, but it is not something I like. Has anyone else ever noticed the same thing?
#5. Eating carbonara makes me acutely aware of my arteries and cholesterol levels.
#6. If I'm completely honest...I'm not entirely sure I like carbonara enough to keep at this experiment!!

So there you have it. Turns out it wasn't so much the curdling issue keeping me away from Spaghetti Carbonara, it was the dish itself! It's just so rich but also, I think, fairly one-dimensional in flavour (I've been watching Masterchef, so have come to know all about fancy/silly cheffy things like one-dimensional food. It's a bad thing, in the culinary world...or at least that is what John and Greg would have us believe!). Sad, perhaps, but if I hadn't tried this out, I guess I would never have known.

Just so that you don't think I've spent the entire day on the couch - I have also planted potatoes today, and repotted my rosemary and mint (both of which were in dire need of such attentions). And now I think I shall return to that book. And perhaps the rest of the bag of Doritos that are sitting on the bench...