Introducing my brand new most favourite salad in the whole world . . .

Lettuce, Clementine and Fig Salad
2 servings

Preparation 10 minutes
200 calories per serving

1/2 Boston lettuce, or curly leaf
2 cups baby spinach
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Clementines
1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup walnuts
2 dried figs, cut into small pieces

Rinse and spin-dry the lettuce and spinach, then put them in a salad bowl. Squeeze the juice from one clementine into a small bowl. Peel the remaining clementines, separate into segments, then add them to the salad bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil to the clementine juice, pour in the lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. Whisk well using a fork until the dressing is emulsified. Pour over the salad. Add the walnuts and chopped figs. Toss well. Serve.

Pasta in a Bolognese Meat Sauce
2 servings

Preparation 5 min / Cooking 15 min
450 calories per serving

160 g tortiglioni or pene
2/3 cup Bolognese Meat Sauce (recipe below)
2 tbsp pasta cooking water
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking , heat the meat sauce (which has bee prepared in advance) in a saucepan over low heat. Add the specified amount of pasta cooking water to dilute the sauce a bit, and warm up just a few minutes. Put the drained tortiglioni back in to the pasta cooking pot, add the sauce and mix well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve in warmed dishes.

Bolognese Meat Sauce

Makes 750 ml (3 cups)
Preparation 30 min / Cooking 1 hour

1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 slice bacon, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 tbsp olive oil
360 g ground beef, lean or medium-lean
1/3 cup milk, 2%
1/3 cup white wine (I used red wine)
1 cup canned tomatoes (diced or chopped)
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste.

Finely chop the onion, carrot, garlic, celery and bacon. Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the vegetables and bacon, then cook until softened, 5-6 minutes, whit some stirring. Add the meat, then salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat with a spoon until it loses its pink colour and starts browning, about 7-8 minutes.

Raise the heat to high, then add the milk. Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, then cook, stirring frequently, until the wine has evaporated, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano, then cover and simmer gently over low heat for at least 1 hour. Stir occasionally and add some water as needed to prevent the sauce from becoming too dry. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. It is important to simmer all the ingredients until the sauce is think and the beef very tender.

The sauce can be stored up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Delicious, that's all I am going to say . . .

It has been a very quiet day which is okay because I accomplished a lot.  Besides the boring chore of tidying the house and dishes, I also:


3 hours working on my sketch book,



At least 3 hours working on our family tree,

2 hours on my tablecloth,

and I'm nearly finished a dishcloth knit-along.

According to the Dreaded To Do List today is December 19th.  Wow I'm just less than a month behind.  Here's hoping tomorrow is another productive day.

While I'm thinking about it, here are the layouts I completed the other day while cropping at the new LSS:

I hope you have also had a great weekend.  I'm heading out boutiquing with Mom and Sandy in the morning.  Perhaps I will have some wild adventures to share with you.  You just never know.

Pam