Hi again, One thing I've noticed about down times is that for me they don't last forever. Some years ago, when I got into a painful space, I started looking at the clock with the intent of timing how long it lasted. Somehow just knowing that such times have a beginning and an end was helpful to me in gaining perspective. One reason I don't spend as much time here as I used to is that I started another forum. It's different from this one,but it was created to be a safe place for some people, too, who were having trouble on other forums with people fighting and not being family-friendly. It takes a fair amount of time to keep up. I'm not sure how many visitors we get from here, but no one posting, and I think for the same reason I post here less - we run out of hours in the day. And then there are the health problems and physical pain and all. Maybe I can start sharing some of the things here. People might even get interested, lol, and it would be a way to keep up my contact here more than I have been. Among other things,we have threads for beautiful imagery. I enjoy that, being an artist. Or maybe it's that I'm an artist because I enjoy that. Below is the link to some images that I posted this morning on the reflection thread. When you get there, click on the box that says "click here to view a picture." For anyone with dial-up, you might want to skip numbers 3, 4, and 5, as they take a long time to load. Just try the first two and the last three. We have a story thread, too, where people add their sentences to create a story, and a person who does sand sculpture. We have a cute pictures thread, which I'm sure some of you would enjoy. I'll add to that later today and share it here, too. I got the pics I'm sharing today fro a stock exchange site. I have a lot of struggles, and joys, too, but I've got to the place where I'm too tired and ill to try to share it all. I need to work on other things, like the paintings and art site and such. That's why I dropped out of the Christmas and birthday exchanges, too. I can't keep it all up. At least I'm still here :) Here is a link that might be useful: Reflections

Hey Scubadiver - what about a Greek Pastitsio? I have 2 different recipes, one uses beef and this one uses lamb. Either way it is EXCELLENT! BTW - I think I will put this on the Pasta thread too since it has elbows. Also Rob, enjoy the Ambrosia and the memory of your grandmother. I love that food reminds us of such good times in the past. Alexa ************************************************* Greek Pastitsio 1 1/2 lb. ground lamb or beef 1/4 tsp. pepper 8 oz. elbow macaroni 1/8 tsp. cinnamon 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine 1/8 tsp. oregano 1/4 cup flour 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can tomato puree 3 cups milk 1 lg. onion, finely chopped 3 eggs 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese Prepare macaroni according to directions. Rinse with cold water; drain. Stir flour into melted butter in a heavy saucepan. Gradually stir in milk & cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Cover & cool the white sauce. Brown the ground beef & onion in a large fry pan. Pour off drippings. Sprinkle salt, pepper, cinnamon, & oregano over beef. Stir in tomato puree & cook slowly for 10 minutes. Beat together egg, & 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Gently stir in macaroni. Gradually stir in 2 cups of the white sauce into the macaroni mixture. Place 1/2 macaroni mixture into a buttered 11-3/4 x 7-1/2 inch baking dish. Spoon beef mixture in an even layer over macaroni. Place remaining macaroni mixture over the beef. Pour remaining white sauce over the top. Bake in moderate 375° F. oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese, & continue baking 20-25 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

I think I have decided on the vegetarian entree. I love the sound of Linda's butternut squash lasagna but I have all of this pumpkin puree so I went looking for a pumpkin lasagna. This one also includes Swiss chard. I'm thinking I might skip the green beans every pushes around on their plate because stuffing and mashed potatoes are more appealing. I'll add more chard to the dish as one review mentions it could use more. I will also add some rosemary as that sounds like a tasty addition. Pumpkin Lasagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard 1 pound lasagna noodles 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for tossing 1 onion, finely chopped 2 pounds Swiss chard, stems discarded and leaves chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 3 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree 1/4 cup heavy cream Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg Pinch of cayenne pepper 4 cups fresh ricotta (32ounces) 2 large eggs, beaten 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (about 6 ounces) 2 cups shredded imported Fontina cheese (about 8 ounces) 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagna noodles until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Drain well and transfer the noodles to a baking sheet. Toss the noodles with olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. 2. In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until wilted and no more liquid remains, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season the chard with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly. 3. In a medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, nutmeg and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, mix the ricotta with the eggs, 1 1/2 cups of the Parmigiano, 1 cup of the fontina and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. 4. In a well-buttered, 9x13 inch ceramic baking dish, spoon 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture in an even layer. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles in the dish, overlapping them slightly. Spread half of the remaining pumpkin mixture over the noodles in an even layer. Top with half of the Swiss chard and another layer of noodles. Cover with half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat the layering with lasagna noodles, pumpkin, Swiss chard, another layer of noodles and finish with the ricotta mixture. 5. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for about 40 minutes, until heated through and slightly firm. Remove from the oven and uncover. Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmigiano and 1 cup of fontina on top of the lasagna and broil about 4 inches from the heat until golden brown and crisp on top, about 4 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve. MAKE AHEAD The unbaked lasagna can be refrigerated overnight. Let return to room temperature before baking. Here is a link that might be useful: www.foodandwine.com

Alexa, my favorite duck so far came out of the smoker, Roger and Sherry came for dinner and they've sampled that, Roger really liked it. Deep fried might be really good! As for "unmentionables", I've confessed to eating everything from testicles to head cheese. (shrug) Some I liked, some I didn't. I tried to get cabrito when we went to Mexico, but couldn't find any. I ate sushi in California, although I liked the deep fried version best, LOL. (Thanks, Diana!) The only time I got a lot of criticism here was once when I posted pictures of the new calves and had the "annual naming of the beef". I did get a couple of hateful emails from a woman who couldn't stand me "talking ugly about food" and a couple of others about being the next thing to a murderer for raising beef and then having it killed. (shrug) I'm a big girl, I can deal with it. I got a lot more nastiness on the tomato forum and from one male poster on Harvest who was always right and got not just nasty, but threatening. It happens. (shrug) I get past it. Annie