Pasta and Waddling

Our test frugal/use what you have/don't buy anything this week week has seen us making some right concoctions in the food department.  Also, been going through clothes that don't fit Junior anymore and these have been cut and stored, ready to be used as rags/dishcloths, etc.  And we've been busy turfing out old carpets so floorboards can be cleaned and painted a nice fresh colour.  Bathroom carpet might go, too.  Lino's much better.  We have, at present, a carpeted bath panel!!  lol  I hate this sort of thing..the turfing out of old floor coverings.  It always generates so much dirt and crap and we seem to be endlessly hoovering!!   The poor little machine cowers away there, in the corner with a look that says ' No more...please!!'.  lol  Anyway, all this extra diy will have to wait for a while as Junior has a cold.  She's all 'Vick and tissues' at the mo.  

Son no 2 had flu a few weeks back but is now feeling better.  He was tested for swine flu but he didn't have it, thankfully and is now back at work.  

Here, we're cooking from scratch mostly and one recipe we chucked together was a veggy pasta dish.

Put pasta on to cook.   We used the twists, which are probably the wrong sort, but it's what we had in.

Saute an onion and some chopped garlic in olive oil for a couple of mins.  Add sliced mushrooms and a sliced courgette.  Cook for a few minutes.  Add tablespoon of tomato puree and a couple tablespoons of the pasta water.  Stir.  Season.  I added basil, salt and pepper.  Then, while cooked pasta is draining, add a tablespoon or two of cream cheese to the veg sauce and stir in thoroughly.  Mix it into the pasta and there you are!   You could, I suppose, blitz the mixture so it's smoother.

Sadly, we have no piccies as we scoffed the lot before we thought of that.  lol

When I was younger and times 'was really hard', Mother used to cook pasta and stir in cream cheese into the pasta and that was your meal.  No money in those days for extra veg and the luxury of a 'sauce':o(  Sometimes it was pasta for pud, too.  Basic pasta, knob of butter stirred in and sugar sprinkled on top.  Mother used to rave about compote.  Boiled fruit.  I used to HATE it.  Eughhh. And she'd just try to get it down our necks, saying 'Das is goot for you', but mouths stayed firmly shut.  lol

Back to Min & Junior's kitchen, sometimes we have pasta and a basic tomato and onion sauce and herbs (I pestle and mortar black peppercorns and fennel seeds and add a pinch of that).  Put grated cheese into the bottom of a bowl, add a bit of pasta, then sauce, then cheese.  Layer it up as far as it'll go without tipping over the bowl.  Junior's favourite cheese for this is mozzarella as she likes the stringy chewiness.  

It's the cheese that lets me down on the being totally vegan front.  Junior likes to try different foods, so she's still an omni at heart. (garlic sausage kid).

Must go and do some waddling (exercising of joints and which is a sight to behold!!).  If I sit for half an hour or so it feels like concrete has settled in.  lol    'Tis worse in the morning.  I'm really peed off with the having to take painkillers....makes me tired but I wouldn't get anything done otherwise.  Can't win.