Sauceless vs Cheeseless

This was what I cooked last week.

*points to picture below*

And this was what I cooked this week.

*points to picture below*

Monday Night Verdict?

Apparently the latter is the crowd favourite. The crowd being mom and dad. Heh. I got an instant "Nice." from dad even before I actually sat down. Dad was already digging in. *as shown in the picture above*

It was a no-brainer since it's been known that dad is a Tomato Man. I've been stubborn for the past few weeks in attempting to cook all my pasta-ish dishes without the regular tomato based sauce. Hence last week's Salmon Spaghetti was flavoured with just garlic and pepper. I personally enjoyed it. *bias* Because unlike dad, I have a thing for pepper. Many weeks earlier, I worked up a pot of Green Pea Spaghetti and let's just say that lunch was enjoyed in silence. =P

In my defence, it was still yummy but apparently,
nothing beats good old traditional tomato.

Now I came to realise that I've been posting up pictures of all my cooking adventures without actually sharing a recipe or two. Well, that's 'cause I rarely cook with a recipe.
I either randomly come up with an idea of what would work and buy my ingredients or in some cases, make do with what's available in the kitchen.
Hence, today's cheeseless baked pasta!

The idea of baking my spiralini instead of just cooking them ala spaghetti came about yesterday while I was walking around Giant. Now being right in the centre of the hypermarket, I could have easily grab some cheese for the idea yet I stood there in front of that cheese and decided against it. I admit they were not cheap and I was not feeling generous. Heh.

So I came home and seek Google for help. After twenty recipes asking me to put lots of cheese on my casserole and a read on a cooking forum later, I came to a conclusion!
What was important is that I have enough sauce to cover the dish so as to not dry up my spiralini. The cheese, aside from being rich and yummy, was a core ingredient in holding up the dish together. All I need is something else to do the job!

Finally, a first time in Hiyashibeeps,
I am offering a cooking tip instead of a travelling one. :O

If you're cooking for lactose-intolerant people or simply want to avoid the rich and not exactly healthy cheese, break an egg or two and coat it over your dish. There's also the other option of using yogurt in replace of cheese but again, I got none in my kitchen and there's lactose in that too.

So dear readers, if you are out there.
Try your luck with a cheeseless baked pasta today!

On a side note, I'm done with all things pasta for the time being. Mom just reminded me yesterday night that I still have my Japanese rice in the fridge. Yikes! Looks like it's time to go back to Japan. *grins*