Lazy Day

 Due to a little Jack Russell not settling last night I had a very disrupted sleep.  On Friday she had to go to the Vets for a general check up bearing in mind she is on antihistamines to stop her itching and a pain killer for the arthritis that she has.  As it was a three month check up and they are keeping an eye on her they shaved her neck to take blood.  Trouble is they did it too close to her skin and she has ended up with razor burn.  When she first came back she was okay however yesterday her neck was inflamed and she was very much off colour.  So I bathed it with sterlilised water with a little salt in and then popped some nappy cream on her.  It seems to have worked a treat.  From flame red skin this has now gone pink again.  However she could not get comfy yesterday and was attempting to itch which was the last thing we wanted her to do.  She was off colour yesterday as well not interested in anything.  Trying to stop her from scratching has been the big thing and I had just gone off to sleep last night when she started ripping.  So on went some more cream and she settled down after that.  As my sleep was fitful I ended being late up as I just crashed out.

Today she has been more her old self and far "perkier" which I am pleased about.  When she is well she just does not want Dad at all and gravitates towards me.  I do spoil her but then again she is an old lady of 14+ years.  So today has been far better and her sore spot is not as sore but I am still popping the cream on and putting it on thickly so it soaks into her skin.  Fortunately she cannot bite it as otherwise it would have been a homemade cone of shame!

I have also done a little more crochet with some of my scrap wool, which will eventually be turned into a scrap throw.  I am quite pleased with the colourway so far although I may have to add the odd ball of wool here and there as we go along.  The colours are quite pretty, so far being lilac, purpley pink, pale lilac, navy blue, marled blue.  I am trying to blend the colours so that they match in somewhere along the line.  I have worked four squares of each colourway thus far as I ended up running out of the wool I was using and cannot get anymore so I thought this scrappy haphazard design might work better this way.  The squares are still in their scruffy state as they will need pressing and also the ends sewing in.  I tend to do this in one fair go as for me it is an integral part of the finishing of my blankets.  I don't mind doing it.

Tonight for tea with have had a simple Spaghetti Bolognese for tea.  Now to tell you the truth I have never really been taken with Spaghetti Bolognese as a meal.  OH however is another matter.  I had fancied having a chilli.  In the end I gave in but told him that we might well be having chilli later in the week.

When I cook I tend to play around a bit and strictly speaking it probably is not a traditional Spaghetti Bolognese recipe.

I started off by chopping an onion and gently frying it in a pan.  I then added a couple of carrots finely chopped and cooked for a few minutes before adding in a generous pinch of mixed herbs, and some pepper.

I then added in my mince, this particular mince was a very lean one, but was nice and fresh as it broke easily into pieces so that I could distribute it around the pan.  Once browned I then added in some gravy powder, some stock, some crushed garlic and about a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly together with some hot water. I do continually taste what I am cooking as I go along so that I can adjust the seasoning and the flavouring as I go.

I decided to add in some of my dried kale leaves, which I had left as leaves, to add a bit more interest and flavour to this dish, making sure that there was enough water to soak into the kale.  You need it to absorb some of the juice as you do not want it crispy when eating.

I then added in a jar of bought pasta sauce, however you could use a couple of tins of tomatoes blitzed in the food processor.  The only other thing I wanted to add was a dash of red wine.  OH is not a fan.  He is not a fan of herbs either, but I added them and did not tell him.  As it is I got asked what the green stuff was in the pasta sauce.  He seemed okay with the addition of this, but honestly sometimes he is worse than children!

For serving I added some grated matured cheddar to the bottom of the dish (I used a soup bowl for this as it gives quite a good serving).

I then added a generous dollop of the sauce.

Then the Spaghetti.

Then I finished off with another good dollop of the sauce, more grated cheese and then added some grated Comte on top.

It was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I shall certainly make it this way again and I will probably add some red wine next time. However, I will definitely be using the  dried Kale a lot in my home cooking from now on in.  Dried Spinach would be good in this also.

It has been a warmer day here in Peterborough but dull.  The temperatures seem to be on the up.

Right am off to get back to my seed scheduling.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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