Sunday

Who would have thought the weather could/would change so suddenly and so considerably.  On Friday we drove back feeling far too warm in the car, even with the air con (which doesn't work that well, unfortunately) and, once home, breaking into a sweat each time I did anything strenuous.  It was a warm day, humid too, at times.
And then yesterday - sheeting rain, wind, a considerable drop in temperature towards evening and flooding!  South Essex has had it really bad with flooding in Southend and Rayleigh.  We tend not to have flooding problems round here (fingers very firmly crossed) but there were lots of deep, wide puddles everywhere.  It's stopped raining now, there's a wonderful early morning freshness in the air and a clean, green smell everywhere.  Lovely.  It reminds me yet again of why I love being an early riser.

After a sleepy, restorative day yesterday, this morning I woke feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed so, after the necessary coffee, I set to and made some pasta dough in Thermione, followed by some bread dough that is now rising.  I used the proper flour for the pasta dough plus a very little splash of olive oil and it did make a very pleasant to handle, pliable dough that is now in four long sheets for the lunchtime lasagna.  The little end bits I cut into short strands and they're now drying.  I shall use them in a soup at some point in the next few days.  I love it when there's absolutely no waste.
The lasagna will be a vegetable one and I am sure the runner beans we will have with it will be delicious, even if it is hardly a conventional combination.

I've been looking and looking for a single portion lasagna dish.  Not too big, just wide and long enough to take one sheet of dried lasagna, deep enough for the necessary layers and with straight sides.  You'd think it was an obvious thing to provide but I can't find one anywhere.  Using fresh lasagne this time makes it easy but I find breaking the dried sheets a very hit and miss affair and I don't always have the time to make fresh..
Lakeland did a lovely deep dish (maybe they still do) but it was way too big for me.  You can get small dishes but not deep enough.
I will keep looking.  One day . . . or maybe I could use a loaf tin!

And now I must check the bread dough and make my beans on toast.