Pumpkin lasagne - comfort food

PUMPKIN AND RICOTTA LASAGNE

The lasagne dish. This is a dish that many of my friends will remember, bought by my dear late husband, Don and part of a 12 piece dinner setting called Figgi from Norway. Ever since I was 16 this dinner set was on my wishlist. I still use it every day and still love it.

Lasagne sheets. If I am being lazy I use fresh lasagne sheets from the supermarket because they are quick and easy. If I am being creative and a purist, I make my own lasagne sheets. But the middle of summer is not the best time to make hand made lasagne. Sometimes we use dried italian lasagne pasta, but fresh is far superior in this instance.

First roast the pumpkin, adding a littel seasoning. Wrap up chunks in Glad Bake to keep the moisture in, similar to when you roast a whole garlic clove.

Next smash the cooked pumpkin. I like to use the Mouli, my favourite kichen (Ludite friendly) tool. It gives a texture without spoiling the cooked ingredient. Ah, trust the Italians for their simplicity.

What I like most about this recipe, is the simplicity and the observation of Italian principles, less is more. Using only few ingredients and not being overly spiced or 'souped up' this dish is easy on the palette, and even more splendid the next day. It is one of our comfort foods. The original recipe came from Good Weekend years ago and we don't vary the recipe too much.

Pumpkin, ricotta, finely grated Parmesan, good quality Fetta or goats cheese (extra tasty), strips of pancetta, butter, raw ginger grated, toasted pine nuts and lightly fried sage leaves on top. layer the cheese mix alternately with lasagne sheets and pancetta and add the fried sage leaves to the top layer. Simply delicious!

13th annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition November 2009, Bondi Beach Sydney

A trip to Sydney one weekend in November primarily 'take my yarns for a walk' to a Knitters Guild meeting in Central Sydney... Imagine our delight at finding that 'Sculptures by the Sea' exhibition was still on, it's final weekend. This exhibition ran from 29 October - 15 November and exhibits were dotted on the coastal walk between Bondi and Tamarama. Nigel visited with friends on the Saturday whilst I met up with the Guild members. On Sunday we spent a morning visiting the exhibition together. After each step, my delight became even more intense. http://sculpturebythesea.com/ will take you there. Or you can see the full album here on my Facebook profile with credits and titles to sculptors:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030625&id=1577224785&l=f7171704c8

I can't believe we haven't visited this really important sculptural exhibition before! I loved the interaction with the walkers, the children, the interactive element. And all for free! We bought a calendar of course to savour the moments all year long and I have since become a friend of the exhibition to support their work.

After a truly exhilerating morning of discovery we went back to visit friends who put on a beautiful lunch for us.

Maybe you will take a trip to Bondi in October 2010 to visit 'Sculptures by the Sea' exhibition? We will definitely add this to our calendar of 'must see' exhibitions. (Dreaming that we might get to see the whole exhibition this time!)

After a recent 8 week basic photography course we went on a bushwalk to a local bushland area that I would never normally have ventured into.

At first I saw only fallen branches, dead twigs, no life. But we were here to concentrate on composition and very soon I started absorbing the light and shade, single elements, texture, frames, single leaves. I did not want to disturb this virgin bushland. It was rugged, dry, but beautiful in its own right.







The rich hues and textures of our bushland. The bark on this tree reminds me of Arnhem Land in Central Australia. I love the variations on colour here.



Grasses in a corridor of rocks

A small window frame leads you deeper into the dense forest where only native inhabitants can tread.

I am still fascinated by the grandeur of the grass trees, so prevalant in our native bushlands. At Rossgole they stood tall and proud and seem somewhat foreigners even tho' they are unique to Australia.

I couldn't help thinking this looked like a watchful eye... making sure we didn't leave our stained footprints on this rustic setting.

More window frames

One beautiful gum tree