Sunday Lasagna

Making lasagna in my family has alway been a big event.  In my family it takes two days to make a pan of the cheesy perfection.  The sauce is alway made the day before, then the next day is when you start to build and stack sauce, noodles, ricotta, noodles, sauce, noodles, ricotta, noodles, sauce, noodles, ricotta, noodles, sauce,…  Then it was all topped off with meatballs and or Italian sausage or just shredded mozzarella cheese before it is baked.  

I made lasagna for dinner yesterday and again I was disappointed by the type of lasagna noodles that I use. 

I like the wavy type that is ridged to hold the sauce and the fillings.  I don’t profess to know all about the different type of pasta, but I do know that only certain pasta are made for certain ingredients and recipes.  For instance, for a spaghetti dinner with a tomato sauce, you wouldn’t use Angel Hair pasta.  There is a reason for all the different shapes and sizes. 

But, I moved on.  I only had a small container of ricotta cheese so I only made a two layer lasagna. 

 

26 Things-’Z’

Zest (lime)

Tom bought limes to make himself Margaritas. I used the lime to make zest for my final letter for the 26 Things.

As for me. I swore off Margaritas. Can anyone guess why?

Today I made homemade cantaloupe sorbet/ice. But, just the same it is so refreshing. I know what we call cantaloupes are really muskmellons. Then why do we call them cantaloupes? I don’t think that I have ever had a genuine cantaloupe.

Cantaloupe Sorbet

1 cantaloupe peeled, seeded and then cut into cubes
1/2-2/3 cup of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit
2 Tablespoons of light corn syrup
1 cup of water

Place cubed cantaloupe and sugar into a medium bowl and mix well. Place this is the refrigerator for a couple of hours. After chilling, place the sweetened melon cubes into a blender and add the corn syrup and water. Blend well.
Transfer this mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufactor’s instructions.
Place the frozen sorbet into a covered shallow, plastic container and freeze for a few hours before serving.

26 Things-’Y’

Yeast

I love yeast. I love the smell, the look and the taste. I like to make yeast breads. I love the smell, the look and the taste of a yeast bread. I remember my grandmother when she was making bread, before she would knead it, she would bless it by making the sign of the cross over it using her hand. I have many times caught myself doing just that.

Given that bread is a staple for life, have you ever thought what the fourth petition in the “Lord’s Prayer” may signify?  “Give us this day our daily bread,”… 

26 Things-’X’

Xray

An xray of Tom’s spine after his back surgery.

In 1998 he was injured at his job.  Because of this injury he needed spinal surgery.  He was left with titanium screws and rods to fuse his spine and a vena cava filter which is a device inserted into a major vein to prevent a blood clot from entering the lungs. He was awake when they pushed that filter through his neck down.  After his surgery he encountered many complications-blood clot on the lungs, kidney failure, compartmental syndrome (see below) to his arm, congestive heart failure and a host of other complications.  All that surgery and problem has had a significant change to his life which left him partically disabled.  Thankfully the doctors saved his life more than once during those two weeks in the hospital. 

Compartment syndrome (CS) is a limb-threatening and life-threatening condition observed when perfusion pressure falls below tissue pressure in a closed anatomic space. The current body of knowledge unequivocally reflects that untreated CS leads to tissue necrosis, permanent functional impairment, and, if severe, renal failure and death. 
 

26 Things-’W’

Welcome Sign

26 Things-’V’

Vehicle, Dodge Viper

One of Brian’s toy vehicles/cars. A Dodge Viper.

On Father’s Day I made Chinese Food and one of the dishes I made was fried wontons. My recipe calls for about a teaspoonful of minced gingerroot or more. I had a lot of gingerroot left so, I made candied ginger today.

26 Things-’U’

Utensils

Kitchen utensil drawer in my kitchen. This is one of two. I didn’t take a picture of the messier one. I would have been too embarrassed.

Carrie’s birthday luncheon went well.  We had meat and cheese spirals, (I was shocked and outraged by the price) potato salad and relishes and condiments.  I didn’t bake the cake.  I didn’t feel much up to doing it.  Tom bought it and it was really tasty.  It saved me a lot of time and energy.  That was really easy for me.  

I made this scrap page with a program that I download-Scrapbook Flair.  I used one of the templates that came with the program.  I got the idea to do digital scrap booking went I went to Julia’s and read one of her posts-All Twitterpated.   It looks like a lot of fun.  There are many sites out there that offer free templates, backgrounds, embellishments, etc. 

26 Things-’T’

Tea Pot

Yesterday we picked blueberries from our backyard. We yielded about a pint and a half. Today I made a blueberry coffee cake and what was left-over of the blueberries, I made into a syrup/topping for breakfast tomorrow. I am thinking of making waffles.

Tomorrow is Carrie’s 34th Birthday. I was just a nineteen years old kid when Carrie was born and already married for two years.  I thought I knew it all back then.  I am amazed when I think about how young I was when I was married.  I am having a birthday luncheon for her.  “Happy Birthday, my dear daughter”. 

26 Things-’S’

St. Francis of Assisi Statue,

Years ago I painted this cement statue and placed it outside. It has been there for many years exposed to the elements. It is starting to wear in places. I hope to renew it someday.

St. Francis of Assisi is my patron saint and my inspirations are St. Clare of Assisi, and St. Anthony of Padua. 

26 Things-’R’

Rice

Race Case

Decisions, decisions.  Which one to pick for the letter ‘R’.  I asked Brian to hold his Sizzlers race case, so I figure the least I could do was us it.  But, I do like the colors and different types of rice that I always keep on hand.  Isn’t rice one of the staples for/of life?  Mmm. 

26 Things-’Q’

Quill

I tried to write the word ‘quill’ with one of the feathered quills and couldn’t really do it. It didn’t help that I used thinned poster paint rather than ink.

26 Things-’P’

Pen, Paper and Paper Clips on a Pink Background

From the desk of Me.  I use the little “Willow Tree” friendship box for paper clips.

26 Things-’O’

Olives

You either like them or you don’t.  I love all the varieties of both the green and the black olive. 

26 Things-’N’

Nails

This is what I could come with on short notice for the letter ‘N’. Or, was it that I was just too lazy and tired to really give it some thought. 

26 Things-’M’

Marble Mortar and Pestle

Carrie sent this ‘marble’ mortar and pestle to me in 1993 when she was living in Philadelphia. I had always wanted one. I use it all the time for whole spices, herbs, etc.