Lasagna, Cupcakes, and a Great Kitchen Gadget
I spent the Sunday making a meat sauce and a tomato sauce for homemade Italian American style lasagnas.
Normally, I only make meat, but my son's girlfriend doesn't eat beef or pork, so I made a small personal casserole for her.
I tried a tip I saw Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) use on her Food Network program. She takes the uncooked dried pasta sheets and soaks them in hot water for 20 minutes, rather than pre-cooking the pasta. I have seen the pasta labeled "no-cook", but I didn't like the idea of paying more for a product I knew nothing about. For all I know, they're one and the same. I've also read some comments on the internet boards about the no-cook pastas tasting funny. The pasta wasn't cooked enough, so I ended up having to add cooking time. I would recommend simply boiling the dry pasta for half the amount of time directed, OR use fresh pasta sheets.
We all finally ate the lasagna with fresh Italian bread dipped in olive oil with garlic and balsamic.
ABOVE: Great grandmother's ground beef and hot Italian sausage .
I also baked some chocolate cupcakes with a buttercream mint frosting. I've made these before, and I have been craving them.
After dinner we slipped into the den to watch Planet Earth on Discovery.
Monday, my mother and my grandmother joined me on a drive to downtown Edmonds. The sun was shining, and Mount Baker (Baker is actually a volcano) was in full view. The warmth of the sun was very welcomed after what has seemed like non-stop gray since we returned from Boise.
We gals shopped till we dropped. I bought a few wine glasses and some soaps made with essential oils. Mom and my grandmother bought this awesome gadget. It's a vegetable palm peeler by Chef'n that slide on your finger like a ring and makes peeling fruits and vegetables a snap. My girlfriend, Liz, gave me one for Christmas and I swear this is one of the greatest gadget ever invented, and it's doubled by peeling speed.
This was our view from the van yesterday. The Olympic Mountains made a perfect backdrop for the ferry.
It's good to be back home
.