A wonderful day and two recipes

Sunday at Hawkesbury Junction was just great. We had Julia and Maggie here as well as Irene and Ian arriving from the shallowness of the Ashby. A huge amount of laughter, great conversations - beaut! Such lovely friends.

The saloon got rather full with the noisy and happy bunch of friends in place: Maggie, Julia, D&M, Ian

All of the same people apart from Irene replacing Ian.

As Garfield says: life is uncertain, eat dessert first. We didn't but I need to tell you about it first...

The dessert was yummy - inspired by Little Neill who had messaged to say he'd used some of the damson jelly with a crumble and honeycomb icecream. He was squirreling because he was meant to be having a bath...😉😊

I've started adding bits to the crumble - pumpkin seeds, almond flakes, cinnamon. This time the fruit was cooking apples. Last time I made it, I had a couple of sticks of rhubarb as well apple and I added dried cranberries. Both were very yummy.

 

Sunday lunch with no roast in sight onboard Waka Huia resulted in requests for two recipes. So here goes:

Lasagne for 6:

The lasagne, lettuce salad, and the kumara and bacon salad

 

Both of the sauces can be made ahead and the mushroom sauce keeps in the fridge really well and is super versatile as a gravy with toad in the hole/nut roast, on pasta, and as a side with cooked breakfast. I use the tomato sauce in lots of dishes too with other stuff added as seems appropriate:

Mushroom sauce:

Saute 500g of chopped mushrooms, 2 chopped onions, and 2 or 3 cloves of sliced garlic in a tbsp of butter or oil.

Stir in 3tbsp flour,  2tsp vegeta stock. cook for a couple of minutes.

Add 1 cup water and 1 can coconut milk, stir while bringing to the boil and then simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

Add 1/4tsp of freshly grated nutmeg and the juice of 1/2 lemon.

Tomato sauce:

Saute 2 chopped onions, 2 sliced cloves garlic; add a cup of each of the following: capsicum, cauliflower, broccoli, and 3 tbsp chopped parsley.

Stir in 2tbsp tomato paste, 2tsp smoked paprika and 2 tsp vegeta stock.

Add 2 cans tomatoes, bring to the boil and simmer till veg are cooked.

Assembling the lasagne:

Put a thin layer of mushroom sauce on the bottom of the pan, add a layer of lasagne sheets.

Spread a layer of tomato mix on the lasagne sheets and then a layer of mushroom sauce.

Add another layer of lasagne sheets, and then top with a final layer of tomato sauce. Cover with tinfoil.

Bake at about 180 deg C for about an hour, then remove the tinfoil and cover with 1.5 cups grated tasty cheddar. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or so to melt and cook the cheese.

Remove from the oven and let it stand for about 20 minutes.

Notes: Quantities for veg and mushrooms are approximate, and use whatever veg you like. I often add grated carrot.

Sweet potato salad

Peel and chop into 1" cubes 3 or 4 sweet potatoes (kumara in NZ).

Roast for 30 minutes or so in a hot oven in oil, honey and garlic. Then leave to cool.

Chop a couple of rashers of bacon and fry till crisp.

Chop an orange into small pieces

Combine kumara, bacon and orange in a salad bowl and drizzle a dressing of juice of 1 lemon, a very heaped tsp of wholegrain mustard and 2tsp of honey.

Notes: This time I didn't have any oranges, so made it without. Still yummy. I often add slivered almonds and rocket.