Our condo is in full force Christmas mode.  Though I have a couple more decorations to create + hang, our tree is up, my gifts are wrapped, and our Ram has her holiday scarf on.  My list is shrinking but the biggest item is still left pending; Christmas baking.  I’ve spent the last week deciding on cookie flavours and packaging ideas – more on this next week…hopefully.

I’ve decided that Football Sundays are more tolerable when Christmas decorations are up.  It’s almost as though the branches of our faux tree dampen the voices of the sports commentators and the whistles of the refs.  While Mike stares at his football green I will stare at my holiday green.  As he watches game after game I stay busy with Christmas to-do’s.

Also on my list, were Christmas cards.  It’s the 3rd Sunday before Christmas and my cards are blank + un addressed + and not in the mail.  At this rate, if I manage to get my cards to the post office by the end of the week, I figure they will arrive at their destinations by…December 26th.  To send or not to send, that is the question.  Perhaps these cards will stay boxed up for another year and resurface for Christmas 2015.

I was about to embark on a journey into the age-old art of calligraphy; according to the how-to book I cracked open.  Determined to master this age-old art, I decided I would address all my holiday cards in beautiful curvy calligraphy; too bad I decided to try and learn it now instead of hmmmm last month.  If I save the cards for next year, that gives me a full year of practice.

This Sunday marks day 1 calligraphy journey.  As i read through the book and printed my way through the alphabet, I decided that with my extended Christmas card deadline of December 2015, I could learn something a little more fancy; less angles and way more curlicues!.  Like any person trying to learn a skill/pick up a hobby, I turned to YouTube.  Sunday, for me, was spent watching YouTube videos of a copperplate calligraphy master.  In awe of his meticulous curves and confident pen strokes, I put pen to paper and tried it for myself.  I can confidently say that postponing the Christmas cards to 2015 was the right decision.

…dinner…

When Mike starts the conversation with “I got this amazing cheese at the market”, I know that what ever follows will never disappoint.  This Sunday, Mike made lasagna + garlic bread.

Cheese #1 was ricotta.  With each spoon I shovelled into this bowl, i snuck a little sample for myself.

And then there was the mozzarella.
When I pulled this bufala mozzarella from its container, I swear I heard Debussy’s Clair de Lune begin to play.  I’m not being dramatic, it was just that smooth and dreamlike.

fresh homemade pasta

bolognese sauce [cooked for 5hrs]

To layer, between the sheets of fresh pasta, Mike added a fresh twist to the usual spinach and ricotta cheese.

spinach + lemon + ricotta mix

…ingredients…
.4c spinach
.1tbs butter
.juice of 1 whole lemon
.zest of 1 whole lemon
.2c ricotta cheese
.salt + pepper to taste

in a pan over medium heat, cook the spinach in the butter until it wilts | add salt + pepper to taste
add lemon juice + zest to the spinach mix | let cool
add mixture to ricotta cheese | fold to combine
season with salt + pepper
layer in the mix when constructing your lasagna

 garlic + oregano focaccia [from Blackbird Baking Co.]

focaccia turned garlic bread with oven roasted garlic compote

Before the final pasta layer went on, Mike topped the pile with slow roasted cherry tomatoes.

YUM!

lasagna + lettering…an action packed Football Sunday!