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This recipe can be done simply, but as this case, since it's Chinese New Year today, I have decided to go abundantly with the added ingredients.

The basics would have been just garlic, white onions, cooked sausages and the star of this dish, Upo (Bottle Gourd or White Pumpkin).

For this however, I have decided to add another kind of sausage, the spicy sweet one from SLERS, which when added to any dish, adds a smoky spicy sweet flavor.

Of course the basic spices and condiments for this dish are just the extra virgin olive oil, basil and thyme as well as oyster sauce.

But I have decided to add Oregano, Nutmeg, Rosemary and Marjoram. They add intensity in the flavors of the dish, hehehe..

I also included two kinds of mushrooms, one that is dried and we have to soak in water before using, as well as the canned button mushrooms.

The textures and flavor of these two kinds of mushrooms are quite different. They compliment everything else that I have added, yet retain their individual taste.

So we start of by sauteing the garlic, onions and the two kinds of sausages in extra virgin olive oil.

As soon as everything has caramelized, we add the other ingredients, including some vegemeat.

Add in the corn kernels, followed by the plate of Upo.

Add a cup of water and the rest of the spices, then leave to simmer...

Add a pack of this sweet style spaghetti sauce...

And voila! The sauce that is actually already a meal in itself..

For the pasta, prior to boiling the water, put a few drops of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, some spices preferably Basil and Rosemary, or use whatever you like, then a dash of salt.

Use a colander to separate the pasta from the water, when it's done.. For this recipe, I used Penne..

Putting everything together is the most exciting part. And it is also the simplest. All you have to do is bring the pasta and the sauce together in a huge boil..

Mix everything without hurting the pasta. For the last touch, I sprinkled a few dried cranberries for added flavor. But this is optional.

Enjoy. Happy Chinese New Year.

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So it's the eve of Chinese New Year, and although we aren't Chinese.. we celebrate. Well, technically, we have Chinese blood in our veins being that our grandfather's mother was a daughter of a Chinese mestizo, still that doesn't qualify us, right? But celebrating the Chinese New Year have been observed still in our household. It is after all, a celebration of life-- personal and business.

So we have a simple midnight feast for two adults and 2 grade-schoolers. we burned candles and incense, we burned wishes and prayed.

The table also had offerings for abundance, as like what we did when we welcomed 2015 as of January 1. But I guess because we are here at the pad, we were able to lively animate our celebration. Unlike in welcoming 2015 last Jan, where we only filled the table with all our offerings, yet went to our parent's place to celebrate with them.

For the food, aside from the ham and hotdogs that the kids requested, I brought the signature Pansit of Philtown Hotel and Restaurant and cooked Jambalaya.