Life Stuff: Let's catch up before we put this month behind us. Doug's father had been in the hospital so there was some family visiting here and there. Great to see Doug's brother and the family from Mississippi when they visited, looking forward to seeing them again early next week. In other news, our son's air conditioner went out so they are dealing with horrific heat indexes (portable A/C units can help with that for now). Our son has an interview next week so we are hoping he gets that job.
Aja is doing well for an old girl. She is just waiting summer out before she willingly walks in the Fall temperatures. I think we are all looking forward to that time. Doug and I constantly talk about moving once we retire, someplace with seasons would be nice. I could do an entire post in our discussed options so far!
Books: I finished The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. She's such a prolific writer and I get lost in the scenes in Cornwall. Starting A Sense of Ending by Julian Barnes and When the English Fall by David Williams.
Over at Girlxoxo they had a fun tag for books. I copied it an added my own books to the theme. If you want, check it out HERE
Watching: We watched Life starring Jake Gyllenhaal, that was pretty good. I didn't see that ending coming, it's nice to be surprised. That's the only decent movie we watched. We tried Dark Matter, it's a series, but only got through a few episodes.
Food: We tried a new recipe for Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna. The recipe may be found at Damn Delicious. Great site and cool recipes. As you can compare from her site and mine, I did not get a photogenic shot! It looked more gray when it was reheated too.
BUT - it was good and probably had potential to be dynamite but our personal preference is for the traditional red sauced version. Not enough zing for our palates. If anyone has tried this with a Bechamal sauce and liked it, please do tell me what I need to tweak for next time.
Tortellini with traditional homemade red sauce! Loved it. Mushrooms, onions and garlic were heaped into my saucepan. Saute and add your tomatoes. Lovely meal and quick to get on the table which is a winner for weeknights.
Do you have a favorite or go-to pasta dish? I eat more pasta than I should but I love it!
I am sharing this with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.
We love pasta too. I can't imagine life without it, and now that tomato season is here (in the north), we've moved from pestos to fresh red sauces. I haven't heard of the Damn Delicious site before, so I'm off to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI"ve worked on lasagna with pumpkin and white sauce, spiced with sage and other flavors -- pretty tasty, and definitely a change from the red version. Needs lots of high=flavored cheese. At lest it's browned enough to look pretty!
ReplyDeleteMy recipe here:
http://maefood.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-lasagna-recipe-by-request.html
Julian Barnes writes good books -- I hope you review it.
best... mae
Sounds like a lot on your life plate! It's been awhile since I've made lasagna, but for a photo at least, red is just more vibrant. Have made a spinach version, but that had red sauce as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, spinach was on my mind this morning. I found a bowl of it in the microwave that I put in yesterday to defrost and promptly forgot all about it! Reluctantly I've decided to throw it out. Have a great week. Cheers from Carole's Chatter
ReplyDeleteYou've been busy! Both the lasagna and the tortellini look yummy. I had lots of pasta cravings lately. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSomehow, we are always up for a good pasta dish. Both of yours sound delicious
ReplyDeleteWhy do air conditioners always go out at the hottest point in the summer? We had 3 or 4 summers in a row where something went wrong. Luckily we have 2 units so 1 part of the house would be okay but it was always the one that cools the bedrooms that would go out! Fingers crossed for the job and A/C repair. I think I'm about as far north as I want to go. We have seasons but very mild ones. I'm not sure I could handle real cold! The lasagna looks delicious! I'm a big bechamel fan so it sounds perfect for me though you can have my share of the mushrooms.
ReplyDeleteBeth FR: its tomatoes season here too. I am going to make your tomato salad this week. Looks great.
ReplyDeleteMae, thanks for the recipe, I just took a look at the link. Also, I am very much enjoying the Julian Barnes book. I will be looking for more.
Claudia, I plan on a Spinach lasgna next time, but Mae did share a good pumpkin lasagna recipe so I am tempted!
Oh no, Carole, I have done that too. Bummer.
Thanks Deb and Judee.
Vicki, I'm not a big fan of the macaroni salad as it too much mayo for me.
Katherine, I sure hope he gets a job, it's stressful. Plus the A/C out in this heat...ugh! Thanks for your comment 😊
Pasta, period, is our go-to dish. Since we have been trying to diet, I have only cooked pasta twice (since January).....makes me sad. Good luck to your son and sending good thoughts to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteHope his daddy is feeling better! It is nice to see family, though :)
ReplyDeleteMy go to pasta is peas & pasta. What our Italian neighbor called poor man's food. Just green peas with pasta and onion. Simple but SO good!
Love pasta myself! Is there such a thing as too much pasta (laugh)?
ReplyDeleteHoping Doug's dad is doing better! Hope your son has the a/c working and is smiling about the potential for a new job.
Can I guess North Carolina is on the list for potential retirement locations?
Hope your summer is going well.
Velva