Cooking for the Day

The day began with a nutritious omelette filled with leftover roasted veg and spinach and ended, feet up and smiling, with a bowl of warm dessert. Time spent in our kitchen often yields much homemade goodness. So it was today ...

A healthy way to start the day with eggs and veggies.

(Just add toast!)

Crunchy, little biscuits for morning and afternoon snacks.

(The smell of them baking wafted through the whole house!)

The beginnings of a flavourful stew that simmered slowly & became dinner.

(And it will be tomorrow night's dinner too;)

  Winter Apple Crumble and homemade Salted Caramel Ice-cream for dessert.

(Perfect partners, these two!)

To be honest, I managed to produce a fair amount of washing up in the process of all this cooking but, and it's an important BUT, I like knowing what's in our food. In this food, there are wholesome ingredients, not fake ingredients. I know what's in it because I made it. Nothing about it was fast. Indeed the stew bubbled along all day and the ice-cream mixture had to be whisked, twice! There is time and effort and love in this food. And, and it's an important AND, it was a delicious day. Well worth the washing up!

I hope you have a delicious day too!

Meg

Pumpkin & Silverbeet Lasagna

I love vegetarian lasagnas. Layered, meat-free, nourishing and tasty. This particular version is one I make a lot when there is an abundance of silverbeet in the Winter veggie patch.

Silverbeet growing in our garden.

Pumpkin & Silverbeet Lasagna

400g mashed pumpkin
4-5 washed silverbeet leaves
300g ricotta
ground nutmeg
500mLs tomato passatta
lasagna sheets
grated mozzerella cheese

1.  Preheat over to 200C.  Grease and line (if you wish) a large, deep lasagna dish.

2.  Finely shred silverbeet leaves then mix together with ricotta and pumpkin in large bowl.
      Season with pinch or two of nutmeg.

3.  Coat base of lasagna dish with some of the tomato passatta.

4.  Lay down enough lasagna sheets to cover the passatta.

5.  Spread out a layer of the ricotta, pumpkin and silverbeet mixture on top of the lasagna
      sheets.

6.  Repeat layers of passatta, lasagna sheets and the ricotta mixture to fill your dish.

7.  Finish with passata and top with grated mozerella cheese.

8.  Bake in the oven until golden brown.

9.  Remove and let the lasagna sit for 10 minutes or so before cutting and serving ... 
      perhaps with some fresh, crusty bread.

A delicious way to use silverbeet!

Silverbeet is one of those leafy green veggies I have learned to love as an adult. I detested it as a child as my Nanna would boil it until it was soggy, limp and devoid of it's vibrant green. This is totally different and delicious! 

Meg

Sweet & Simple Saturday

What do you have planned for your Saturday?  My plans are for a simple day here at home. I'm looking forward to pottering in the garden for there are seedlings to plant. Lettuce and baby carrot and some more broccoli. I intend on baking too using the juicy citrus that came from a generous friend's trees. I'm thinking orange cake, lemon slice and this lovely lime dessert.  There will most definitely be time for reading, to finish off a "sweet" book that I borrowed from the local library.  I'm sure I can find a sunny corner on the verandah, where the boards are warm, to read in. Perhaps I'll doze ...

 Light reading, a little posy of cottage flowers and citrus from a lovely friend's garden.

I love how days like these unfold slowly, behind the blue gates of our place, unhurried and happy just to be here at home.

I hope you have a lovely Saturday too. 

Meg