It’s been a busy few days, chez nous.

Puppies first:

The puppies First Human (their breeder) arrived yesterday for a short visit – to the puppies.

Naturally the little darlin’s wanted to appear at their best.

It would have been easier if they hadn’t gone walkabout on Sunday through the muddy farm fields.

They were pretty well cleaned-up, but still had brown patches that needed a good brushing.

Which I didn’t have time to do, having to make Lasagne Bolognese (recipe below) for dinner.

Bonnie went under the knife today (spayed).  Very traumatic, but so far, so good.  Update next week – when she quits crying.

Mon mari has been busy (well, up until Sunday, anyway…. ) finishing and redoing stuff.

He has the frame for the cabinets done and the drawers made.  He’s painting the doors and drawer fronts.

In between coats of paint he decided (finally) to finish our bathroom… Those little bits like fastening on the tub front….

Finishing the trim, making mop-boards….  All those little things that didn’t seem important in the push to get things livable last spring.

While he was at it he thought he’d redo the step in front of the shower.

He wasn’t please with it.

Little by little it gets finished.

And I cook….

The beans are bubbling away on the cook top in preparation for the Cassoulet I’m making for dinner tonight.

I made this Lasagne Bolognese for dinner last night….

I really needed this after the all day lunch on Sunday…. I’ll be living on apples and yogurt for the rest of the week (month).

Until then, I’ll enjoy every bite!

By the way if you think ‘Bolognese’ is just another term for a simple tomato-meat sauce you are oh so very wrong.

First:

Ragù Bolognese

For a pasta sauce it’s traditional to add cream or milk; for other uses (such as risotto) the dairy is left out. Mince the vegetables with a food processor if you have one. 

4oz (125gr) Prosciutto 
4oz (125gr) ground pork
16oz (500gr) ground beef 
1 large onion, about 1 cup minced 
1 medium carrot, about 1/3 cup minced
2 ribs celery, about 2/3 cup minced 
3 cloves garlic, crushed 
1 tbs olive oil 
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups beef stock
15oz (450gr) whole tomatoes 
4 tbs tomato paste or 1 small can 
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
a pinch of nutmeg 

Roughly chop the carrots, celery, garlic and onion. Then, very, very finely mince the vegetables. Do it in a food processor, or blender if you can, but stop before you make paste. If doing it by hand, make a mound on the cutting board, half at a time. With a large chef knife, mince them using a rocking motion.
Heat 1 tbs oil in nonstick skillet. Add the vegetables and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove and put into a large sauce pan. 
Finely chop/slice the ham. Put the ham, pork and beef into the same skillet. Sauté until cooked through and brown, breaking it up as small as you can. Pour in the wine, turn the heat up and boil until most of the liquid has cooked off, stirring to get up any browned bits in the skillet. Add the meat and remaining liquid to the vegetables. 
Roughly chop tomatoes, reserving all juices. Add stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and nutmeg to sauce. Bring to a boil, stir well, cover partially, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate unused sauce for later or freeze for up to 4 months.

Lasagne Bolognese

This lasagne does not have a béchamel sauce 

3 – 4 cups Ragù Bolognese 
2 cups (16oz, 450ml) tomato sauce 
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
12oz (350gr) frozen spinach 
12oz (350gr) ricotta 
1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) milk 
1/2 cup shredded cheese 
12 – 15 no-cook lasagne noodles
1/2 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan 

Heat the Ragù. Add the herbs and tomato sauce 
Thaw spinach and squeeze dry. In medium bowl mix the ricotta, shredded cheese, spinach and milk. 
In a 10″ (25cm) square (or 11 x 9) baking dish, make the following layers:

• 1/3 of the tomato/meat sauce
• 3 – 4 noodles you may have to break another one up to get good coverage 
• 1/2 of the spinach/ricotta mixture
• 3 – 4 noodles 
• 1/3 tomato sauce 
• 3 – 4 noodles
• 1/2 spinach/ricotta
• 3 – 4 noodles 
• 1/3 tomato/meat sauce 
• Parmesan

Bake, covered with foil for 30 minutes at 400F (200C). Uncover for last 5 minutes to brown cheese. Let rest 5 minutes, then cut and serve. 

For the rest of the Ragù Bolognese, either serve over spaghetti or make Risotto Bolognese con Fagioli

The boys have been napping in front of the telly after a big lunch (leftover lasagne).  I hear them stirring – time to start the cassoulet.