I have had so much food around the house lately that last weekend I didn't even go grocery shopping. That was nice in that I didn't have to spend the time or trouble getting to the grocery store and back. On the other hand, I had slightly less variety to eat this week, so yesterday I started noticing in myself the kind of gustatory apathy that affected me so much when I was in Germany and against which I have been fighting since September, since I know that once it gets me, recovery will be even harder.
So yesterday afternoon I went to the grocery store. I had a lot of pasta around the house and had been thinking about making my own sauce on the weekend rather than buying commercial pasta sauce which I don't especially like. I thought about chicken cacciatore, but the Joy of Cooking's recipe for that requires a lot of ingredients I don't have, including dry white or red wine, so I thought something else might be better.
Rather by chance, I landed on a recipe for spaghetti alla carbonara (spaghetti with eggs and bacon). I had this dish many years ago when Ralph made it for us at home, and I was very impressed with it. It's one of those lovely Italian dishes which are simple but delicious. Cook the spaghetti, chop up the bacon and cook it, beat some eggs and mix in a little cheese, and toss it all together while the spagehetti is still hot so that its heat cooks the eggs. Mmmmm yummy!