Holding on to Summer

Well I must say I'm feeling better and happier these days so hopefully this blog will not be quite so negative as the last!  Being back pain free certainly makes a world of difference.  So..enough personal stuff, on to the next recipe, a Summer Veg Lasagne with Tuscan Tomato Salad and Quick Frozen Yoghurt in Baby Cornets.

Now this meal looked like it would feed a small football team so I decided to invite over some friends who have two teenage boys to help us eat this meal.  As the weather had already started to cool down to Autumn I was hoping for fine weather and a last chance to eat outside on our new outdoor furniture.

I did heaps of prep work including pre making the Mango Icecream, prepping the 4 bunches of Asparagus and picking all the herbs for the dish.  I also pre made a tomato and feta topping for an entree' of Brushetta (my own creation).

The dish seemed really easy to make and quick although it was an hour before I had it on the table!  I can only say that I was chatting to my friend while making the dish and I also cooked the lasagne longer as I wanted to have that lovely golden colour on the top of the dish.  My oven doesn't really grill like modern ovens do, so it needed a good 15 to 20 minutes in the oven before I was satisfied that it would be cooked to perfection.  I have to say it did look a treat when it came out.

Using the fresh lasagne sheets makes a big difference as the pasta is much thinner and lighter than the dry stuff.  The dish didn't have that heavy feeling in your stomach either as there was no meat or heavy white sauce for the stomach to digest.  I had plenty of food to feed all six of us and still had enough to feed the two of us the following day!

The tomato salad was nice but I did find it challenging finding different types of tomatoes for the salad.  I went to several places including two green grocers and the supermarket to find different coloured tomatoes.  I managed to find a black cherry tomato which tasted ok and gave a little colour variation to the salad.  The croutons also added a nice crunch to the salad.

The Mango Icecream was delicious and was made almost the same as the berry icecream that I had made recently.  Rather than serve it in cones however, I decided to go a little fancier and include some sliced peaches which I prepared earlier and some almonds which I caramelised in the oven when I made the croutons.  This was a technique I learned when I made the Duck Salad 30 Minute Meal which included some stewed fruit with the nuts on top.  All together it made a lovely dinner party style desert.

I have to admit that I am learning some great cooking techniques while cooking these dishes and I am definitely starting to think about food differently.  Just this week I bought myself a pasta maker and made the most amazing pasta dish with pork meatballs which was a Jamie inspired dish from the Jamie At Home series.  I am proud to say that I didn't use a recipe and just kept adding and adjusting as I went along. 

Last night I made a Pumpkin and Spinach Pie, again without a recipe but using some of Jamie's techniques and ideas.  The result was excellent again.  Maybe I am just having a good week in the kitchen but there is certainly a difference in how I cook now to how I cooked six months ago.  Well at least I think so...