A Favorite Thing - Aussies can cook..................

.......and I thought we'd only see 'throwing on the barbecue' type food once heading away from town and out into 

the Kakadu wilderness....the real Australian bush country!

This was a favorite of mine (I don't eat meat)...and in a 

hotel dining room no less. I snapped the menu description 

with my iPhone to remind me of the ingredients, 

then worked to replicate in my kitchen recently. 

Their version was a bit better because they added some 

type of tasty sauce I believe, however mine was 

healthier for lack of it! 

Bob doesn't like dry dishes so if I make this again 

I will add a little veggie broth to the skillet perhaps.

I Bob cut up and peeled a small pie pumpkin. Tossed in a couple of tablespoons of good olive oil, fresh black pepper - roasted at 350 degrees for about 25 mins. until softish - don't overcook. 

This cook book, The Roasted Vegetable is great, the roasting timing chart handy, recipes yummy.

Cooked and drained mini penne, which was all I had in the cupboard, but it worked well. In a large skillet I heated a little olive oil, added a bag of washed and dried baby spinach and allowed it to wilt, threw in the warm penne. Tossed in a small log, cut into chunks, of Trader Joe's fresh goat cheese with black olives, stirred gently until heated through, then added the pumpkin cubes (which I first reheated in the micro because they had cooled off). Plated scattered with a wee bit of fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and more fresh ground pepper - we're off the salt these days. It was very good.......next day leftovers even better perhaps because I did add a dash of heavy cream........and I gobbled it all for lunch.......

     

..... while Bob indulged himself with a KFC sandwich, enough said!!!

Linking to Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday - do visit today!