If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck.... The Ducks Nuts.

I was at work this morning when my mobile rang and it was R.  He never calls, so I got panicky, fearful of some major disaster or bad news.  It turned out that R had finally decided to see his GP about a series of minor health problems that have been bugging him for months.  He was calling so that I could help him remember what they all were.  We created a problem list, I helped him with the spelling of the puffer he was using and we confirmed his history.  I got in trouble for laughing, but he was so cute.... I could hear him writing everything down.  We are so officially in the old married couple category it's not funny.

I just have this thing about treating relatives medically.  It is really just better for everyone to get an objective opinion.  Hospital medicine is this ivory tower that is far removed from the realities of medicine in the community and treating a relative renders one incapable of getting a proper perspective on how critical or benign a complaint is.

More importantly, I just don't see enough of the common things to have a sensible approach as to how to manage them.  The paradigm in the physician world is investigate, possibly diagnose but (more likely) exclude the obscure.  We spend hours taking histories and examining.  In GP land, common things occur commonly (the duck analogy) and the approach is fast and targetted.  And there endeth your moment of House-speak.

Except that R hates going to the GP.  His take is 'Why diagnose something if there's nothing that you can do to fix it?'.  But, he went and the news is good - symptom management is all he needs.

In celebration of the good news, we had Spinach and Fetta Pie tonight - courtesy of taste.com.au - recipe here

 

Starting with fresh rather than spinach.

But I had back up just in case.   I remember Donna Hay doing a feature on this miracle kitchen staple in her magazine a few issues back.

After all that effort with the spinach, corners had to be cut.

They really are the ducks nuts.  And pre toasted too!  Rather than chopping fresh dill, I reached for the masterfoods edit. Behold, the pre-crumbled fetta.  Nigella would be proud.

Another bonus for a Monday  night dinner is the one bowl method.   It really is best to mulch everything together with your hands before placing in to a pie dish sprayed with olive oil.

The same olive  oil spray comes in handy for preparing the filo topping.

Tear the filo into 10cm squares and scrunch over the top of the spinach filling.  Bake in a pre-heated oven for 45 mins while you go do other things around the house and reappear at the beeping of the oven for...