From one friend to another

Woke up this morning to the news of the Tsunami & earthquake that has rocked Samoa. It’s just so sad – these things always happen to people who have the least (in a material sense) and therefore have the most to lose. My parents have been visiting Samoa over the last couple of years and are full of praise for the Samoan people – so friendly and hospitable. My first thought was for their friends and so sent a quick text to Mum. Luckily they live in the hills and so were safe. I picked up the paper on the way home tonight and my stomach lurched when I saw the headline about the 2 year old boy who was swept away from his parents – makes me feel so sick. What a cruel world this can be sometimes. My thoughts are with his family and with all those in Samoa who have lost loved ones or are now suffering the anxiety of missing loved ones. I can’t even begin to imagine.

It’s been a busy few days with quarter end (as anyone who works in financial services knows) and I am pleased that another quarter is over! Time to start on the next one!!! So this is the first time I have had a chance to sit down and catch you up on our most recent culinary experiences – but know that I have left off some not so successful dishes!!!

A year or so ago our friend Kerry shared this recipe with us. Is a lasagne that substitutes pumpkin & courgettes for pasta (great for those who are doing the whole wheat free thing). We have made it lots of times now and it has the comfort factor without the stodge feeling. I just think it works really well and is another great way to add veges to a dish for kids. We all enjoy this and I like to serve it with a salad (made up with whatever is handy at the time!). It also works made ahead of time as I made this up on Sunday, put in the fridge and then heated it up on Tuesday.

Mince & Pumpkin Lasagne

Ingredients:-

500g mince beef

400g pumpkin, thinly sliced

400g tinned diced tomatoes

1 cup or more of grated mozzarella cheese

200g courgette (or zucchini – depending on where you are), thinly sliced

100g onion, diced

Handful of pumpkin seeds

1/8 cup oregano

1/8 cup parsley

1 clove of garlic, peeled & crushed

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 180C. Fry mince in a little oilve oil until browned, add herbs, onion & capsicum (or pepper – once again depending on where you are, but I forgot to put this in anyway!!). Fry until tender, add tomatoes and simmer until thick.

In a greased lasagne dish place a layer of pumpkin slices and cover with half of the mince mixture.

Place a layer of zucchini on top and add half the cheese. Then cover with the remaining mince mixture and top with left over cheese and pumpkin seeds.

Bake in oven for 40 mins. Serves 6-8.