From the Blooming Kitchen Garden: Lasagna Recipe

I made 2 trays of lasagna last night - so I wouldn't have to cook for a few days. They came out of the oven around midnight...and this is what I found this morning! That's right, one tray is already almost done!
I like to mix it up a bit when I make lasagna - its a very forgiving dish...and this is how I made 2 trays this time.
Lasagna
1 large box lasagna noodles
1 32oz container ricotta cheese (or make your own!)
1lb mozzarella, shredded or very thinly sliced
4-5 cups sauce (I made my own with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and fresh basil from the garden)
2 cups chopped spinach (I used defrosted and drained frozen spinach this time - worked very well)
4 hot Italian sausages, cooked and thinly sliced
2 large portabella mushrooms, sliced
Grated parmesan cheese, to taste (I use a LOT on the top)
Cook the noodles per package directions (usually, bring large pot of salted water to rolling boil, put pasts in water, cook ab 10 minutes til done, drain). Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottoms of 2 13x9 baking pans.
Put down a layer of 3-4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping. Gently spread about 1/4 of the ricotta onto each pan - this takes a bit of fiddling, and it doesn't have to be perfect - it will spread in the oven! Spread a small amount of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Then spread a thin layer of the spinach. Dot with 1/4 of the sausage slices. Spoon some sauce over it all, and add the next layer of noodles.
Repeat re the cheeses, sausages and sauce, using all the remaining ricotta, spinach and sausage, and then arrange the portabella slices on this layer before the final layer of noodles.
Add the final layer of noodles. (So, at this point, you have sauce, noodles, fillings, noodles, fillings again, noodles). Smooth sauce all over the top (to prevent drying) and then spread the remaining mozzarella on top. Sprinkle very generously with parmesan cheese. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Hint: Take off the foil towards then end if you prefer a slightly dried result. Also, let the lasagne sit for about 10 minutes before serving - this way the cheeses set up a bit, and the interior cools down a bit.

In Defense of Home-cooked Breakfast

I often hear the argument that home-cooked breakfasts are a luxury...that it is faster and more convenient to grab fast food on the go than to crack an egg or two and cook an omelet. NOT TRUE.

It is healthier and more budget-friendly to prepare a good breakfast at home - even if one must eat it "on the run" - than to grab "fast food." Just check the ingredients list of your favorite breakfast foods - I was horrified when I did this years ago!

This morning, I made a simple mushroom omelet for breakfast. It was a matter of seconds to slice a few mushrooms. Maybe a minute to sauté in a lump of butter. And then another minute or two to crack eggs, whip with a bit of milk, pour into the pan with the mushrooms, and cook til finished.

In total, it approximately 5 minutes to make a healthy and delicious omelet from scratch. Significantly less time than driving to a fast food outlet, waiting on line to order, waiting to pay, and waiting for the food. And significantly healthier than even the "healthiest" fast food fare.

On mornings when I know we will be rushed, I prep breakfast the night before - soaked oats oatmeal with raisins, or (homemade) yoghurt cups with fruit, or even scrambled egg with cheese sandwiches or french toast to warm up in the oven as we get ready for the day.

For My Son

My son turned 25 today...

and I thought of all the lessons I wanted him to learn as he grew to manhood - some lessons taught, some still being shared...

I thought of all the lessons I learned being his mom - some joyous and fun, some painful and hard...the hardest moments I have ever had...

I see the seeds I planted, I watch some take root and others are dormant...for now, to sprout when they are needed? Or did they simply fall on barren ground?

There is so much I want to share with him, so much I want to spare him, but wisdom comes with experience - not with an earful of lessons and warnings...

Twenty five years is a goodly time to grow a young man and to set him upon his path...but perhaps not enough time to grow a mom who wants to wave goodbye :)

Poetry Friday

Give me a choice and I'll take old roads
Roads that buckle and bump, take unexpected turns, meander
Roads that take their time, and take me through time, to a time
When men walked around the hill, and didn't blast through it

Give me a choice and I'll take old roads
Roads forgotten and gone, overgrown paths, abandoned
Roads that remember their time, I remember my time, in time
When I strode as a giant, nothing was impossible

Give me a choice and I'll take old roads

Sewing on the Train

Silly me...I just realised I could have been sewing on my commute all these years! I cut up these scraps into 3" squares for a quilt, and pinned them into pairs for sewing...some day! They have been nagging at my conscience ever since. And then, inspiration struck! I tossed a spool of thread and a scrap to hold pins into a sandwich baggie...and voila! Sewing on the run!

Poetry: A Fairy Tale, by G.K. Chesterton

All things grew upwards, foul and fair:
The great trees fought and beat the air
With monstrous wings that would have flown;
But the old earth clung to her own,
Holding them back from heavenly wars,
Though every flower sprang at the stars.

But he broke free: while all things ceased,
Some hour increasing, he increased.
The town beneath him seemed a map,
Above the church he cocked his cap,
Above the cross his feather flew
Above the birds and still he grew.

The trees turned grass; the clouds were riven;
His feet were mountains lost in heaven;
Through strange new skies he rose alone,
The earth fell from him like a stone,
And his own limbs beneath him far
Seemed tapering down to touch a star.

He reared his head, shaggy and grim,
Staring among the cherubim;
The seven celestial floors he rent,
One crystal dome still o'er him bent:
Above his head, more clear than hope,
All heaven was a microscope.

Simple Woman's Daybook, Mar 1 '13

~FOR TODAY~

Outside my window... dark grey skies, chill breezes, mud mud and more mud! Spring is on its way...but slooooowly!

I am thinking... how very fortunate I am to be able to pop into a shop to buy herbs and vitamins and other health-care goodies...I am suffering a bit of allergy-related asthma (which has not been fun) and am grateful to live in a time and place where I can enjoy the best of modern medicine to alleviate symptoms while I try to root out causes in a more natural manner.

I am thankful for... wee snowdrops in the lawn, seeds ready to sow, potted hyacinths scenting my bedroom!

I am wearing...long navy jersey skirt, plum turtleneck, tights and flats - these long jersey skirts + tights are my new "go to" uniform for trekking into the office on cold days!

I am creating...books in my head...some to be written and published shortly as a "ghost-writer"...some to be dreamed of a little while longer, until their day of writing comes...

Tulips on my writing desk!

I am currently reading...G.K. Chesterton, and medieval English history...

From the kitchen...Simmering soups, baking bread, roasting vegetables...all the scents of a warm and cozy mid-winter kitchen!


Around the house... music - a must for me! - and some early spring cleaning (trying to root out the allergies!!)

One of my favorite things...a sweetie who wakes up in the wee hours when I am coughing and immediately rubs my back to soothe and comfort...

 A favorite quote for today... “The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.”
~ G.K. Chesterton


A few plans for the rest of the week...writing, spring cleaning, garden planning and dreaming...
  
From my picture journal... signs of spring!

Please visit The Simple Woman's Daybook where Peggy Hostetler created this wonderful site and wonderful idea - spend some time dipping into the journals of the other ladies, or jump in yourself!

There is Beauty All Around Me

Potted hyacinths were $2.50 apiece at the grocery store last week - a lot more expensive than if I had purchased bulbs in the fall...but a lot less expensive than even a bouquet of wilted daisies...so I bought two. And now these lovelies have blossomed, and scent my bedroom with their lush perfume. Beautiful!

(And...I can save the bulbs for planting again in the fall...if I can get that organised!!)

From the Blooming Kitchen Garden: Easy Chicken Curry Recipe

Our local market had boneless chicken thighs on sale...so I purchased several "family packs" with the intention of freezing some and making a kettle of chicken curry for freezer lunches with the rest. The curry makes a very satisfying lunch to carry to the office - especially with the raw, cold weather we've been having lately!! I used boneless, skinless thighs because they were a good purchase price, and because dark meat is more flavorful - but any boneless chicken will do,

Easy Chicken Curry

Boneless skinless chicken
Curry powder (any decent brand will do - or make your own!)
2 Tbs each butter and olive oil
2-4 Tbs flour
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 apples, chopped (I used granny smith, any tart apple that holds its shape will do)
2 cups milk (coconut milk can be substituted for a non-dairy dish)

Place the chicken in a roasting pan, sprinkle with curry powder, and roast at 350 degrees until thoroughly cooked thru.

In a large soup kettle, melt the butter with the olive oil. Toss in the onions and peppers and saute until soft. Add the apples and stir well. Sprinkle the flour over all of this, and stir very well. Then add the milk (in effect, making a white sauce with the vegetables). Add curry powder to taste (I use a very flavorful brand, and I add about 2 Tbs). Stir well again, and then carefully spoon the hot, cooked chicken pieces into the kettle. Stir to coat the chicken, and simmer covered about 15 minutes.

Optional: toss in a handful of raisins while it all simmers!

This is delicious over brown rice! For freezer lunches, I let it all cool down, and then put a portion of brown rice in the bottom of a container, and cover with a generous serving of curry, cover and freeze. The night before I plan to take a "freezer lunch" to work, I put one in the fridge to defrost gently. We have a microwave oven at work, so I reheat it uncovered.

A Well Stocked Pantry

Our pantry is running a bit low...and it is definitely time to start some serious re-stocking. Why is it low? Well, I have ben traveling and working a lot of crazy hours the past 2-3 months, so we have been eating from the pantry, with supplements in the form of bi-weekly veggie box + occasional grocery run for meat/cheese/milk, rather than my usual routines of shopping sales and freezer meals. And while this has been a great test of how well our pantry system works...it also highlighted weaknesses in my regular routines!

And so this weekend we will start replenishing our dried goods (beans, legumes, dried fruits, nuts, etc) and our freezer...and investigate which soups I can safely can without a pressure canner...fun times!