Wednesday meanderings . . .

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and the time that the tide will turn.”
~Harriet Beecher Stowe

I love these words by Harriet Beecher Stowe. They help to inspire hope in the face of adversity. I don’t suppose there is anyone in this life who leads a truly charmed life. Even those that we might think are leading very charmed lives, have their own fair share of sorrows and disappointments. I guess the important thing really is in how we handle the challenges that are sent our way. Some people choose to give in to their problems and other’s choose to rise above them.

I am from the latter group. I am a very stubborn person and I refuse to let life beat me down. Oh . . . I may stop and have a little boo hoo once in a while, but I soon get over it, pick myself up and march forward. I’m quite sure my faith is the largest impetus in helping me to do that, and I am ever grateful for having a heart that believes and a heart that knows. On the other hand, I take nothing for granted.



I was laying in bed one morning last week and the thought came to me . . . “You are 55 years old.” It dawned on me that I am now at a stage in my life when more time is laying behind me than is probably laying in front of me. What are the chances truly of me living to be 110? Slim to nil I would expect . . . and, in truth, would I really want to? I’m not sure. Realizing that your days are numbered is not a depressing awareness, rather than that, it is an impetus to make every day count for even more than it does already, and to grab whatever joy there is to be found in each one.

I am not sure how I got to 55. I strongly suspect it was one day at a time, although the time seems to have crept up on me and added up to quite a lot of years in no time at all!!! But that is always the way it goes, and I will probably be sitting here in 20 years time wondering what ever happened to the last 20 years! It is up to me to make them count. Nobody can do that for me, and the measure of my life is not so much in what I have accomplished for myself, but in what I have done for others. I think that is where the true joy lies, or at least that is what I have found for myself.



I once read somewhere, that it is not until you learn to give your life away that you truly begin to live it. A life spent in selfish pursuits is really a life wasted in my opinion, for I have never felt such joy and satisfaction, except it were in the process of serving others, and seeing that I have brought a spark of light into their lives. I don’t think you really understand this in quite the same way when you are younger, but then . . . life is not quite appreciated in the same way when you are young, except for by the infirm or the sick. To them each day is precious and treasured.

I expect that is why I get up so early each morning. Todd thinks it is just so I can sit here on the computer and surf around. The real reason is that the early morning is when my brain is the quickest and at it’s best. This is when I have my best thoughts and do my best writing. I cannot lay in bed awake and see one scrap of my day disappearing into the ether without me having done something with it. I am a doer I guess, although it’s taken me probably three quarters of my life to suss that out! As he looks at the pile of books on the kitchen table, I dare say Todd might argue that fact, as it seems I am not so much of a doer as a thinking about doing, haha, but nothing could be further than the truth, for I believe I truly get more out of each day with each day that passes, if that makes any sense. I cram so much into my days that I scarcely have time to put one book away before I am on to the next one. They are reference materials. At least that’s what I tell myself. A well loved stack of books on the kitchen table is the sign of a brilliant mind! (sounds good to me at any rate!!)



Mitzie is such a little spit fire most of the time it is difficult some days to get a decent picture of her! She is a little bundle of energy and I expect she will keep us young for some time to come! I can't wait until she has had all of her shots and we can begin to take her for walks. That is . . . once she settles to walking on a lead! It will be no fun until then I am sure! Todd had meetings here last night, so I spend the evening upstairs working on some art and making some cards. Once the meetings were over and I came down I discovered that Mitzie had busied herself while the men were talking by chewing up a pencil all over the carpet! Sigh . . . dogs will be dogs I guess and men will be men!



Here's a little peek at what I got up to! It makes a lovely card. If you're curious and want to see the rest of her, have a quick look over here.

Here's a lovely vegetarian version of lasagna that I think you will enjoy. I know we both enjoy it. Todd professes to not liking pasta, but I have always noticed that he eats this right up! I Love butternut squash in anything. I could eat a whole plate of roasted butternut squash and nothing else. I LOVE this lasagna. I need to make it more often, rather than just once in a while . . .



*Pan Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Lasagna is not one of those dishes that you can put together lickety split. It always takes a little bit of time, but is always worth it at the end when you are sitting down to a delicious dinner. This version is more delicious than most and worth every precious minute of work! I like to use fresh lasagna sheets which helps to cut back on a the time a bit!

For the Bechamel:
3 1/2 cups milk
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly bruised
1 thick slice of peeled onion
1 bay leaf
a sprig of parsley
3 1/2 TBS butter
3 1/2 TBS of flour
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the filling:
1 large butternut squash (3 pounds in weight or a little less)
2 cloves of garlic peeled
20 or so fresh sage leaves, or 1 1/2 TBS dried sage
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup walnuts, toasted and finelychopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup greated gruyere cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces no boil lasagna noodles

Lightly grease a 9 by 12 inch baking dish and set it aside. Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/375*F. Put the milk, garlic, slice of onion, bay leaf and parsley spring in a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer. Cover, remove from the heat and set aside to infuse the milk with the aromatics.

Peel the butternut squash and chop it into ½ inch cubes.Chop two of the garlic cloves together with the sage and the parsley, making a kind of an herby mixture redolent of garlic. Heat the 2 TBS of the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and the chopped squash and cook over high heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the squash is fairly tender and starting to caramelise in a few places. This should take about 10 minutes. Add the garlic/herb mixture along with the nuts. Cook for a few minutes longer and then remove from the heat and set aside.

Melt the butter for the béchamel in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for about one minute. Strain the milk and then slowly whisk it into the butter/flour mixture, whisking it until it is smooth and beginning to thicken. Reduce the heat to low and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes or until the flour is well cooked and the sauce is nicely thickened. Stir occasionally. Season with ½ tsp of salt and some black pepper. I also like to grate in a little fresh nutmeg to taste.

Now comes the fun part.

Spread ½ cup of the sauce in the baking dish. Lay 1/3 of the noodles over top. Cover these with half of the squash mixture, 1 cup of the sauce, half of the Gruyere cheese and a third of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat and then add a third layer of the noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over top and then the remaining Parmesan. Loosely tent with foil.

Place in the heated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 20 minutes longer, until bubbly and golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

This goes really well with a mixed salad of greens and vegetables.



If the Lasagna isn't enough to get your tastebuds tingling today, over on The English Kitchen I baked some pretty delicious Sour Cherry, White Chocolate and Almond Scones!


Psst! TONI, I answered your question about the Manor in the comments section of the previous post, my Day Book.