A beach urchin texted on Monday to ask if she could come over for dinner on Tuesday. I said sure even though I didn’t really have anything in the hopper for Tuesday. So I suggested steak because it’s really easy. But then we decided to postpone until Saturday (today) and darn it all, I decided I felt like BUILDING something, not just throwing pieces of beast on a grill.

I offered lasagna or enchiladas. Both beach urchins indicated that they would just enjoy having someone else cook but one of them zeroed in on lasagna. Yes! I have not made lasagna since last summer at the moomincabin and I have two partial boxes of noodles that are crying to be used up.

So that is what I’ve been doing today. Here is my “recipe”. I put “recipe” in quotes because it’s really more of a *plan* than an exact recipe. I have a basic tomato sauce recipe in my head but your sauce would also be fine or even something like Ragu. I don’t usually buy prepared pasta sauce but when a jar of Ragu was left at the moomin a while back, I used it. Don’t remember if it was for lasagna or something else but it was fine.

I usually make lasagna with meat (sweet Italian sausage) but I can make it veggie too and I vary the veggies I use in it. I always use spinach, even when I make it with sausage. Beyond that, carrots (grated or thinly sliced) work well and patty-pan squash is wonderful. Can’t wait for that season by the way. Broccoli, green beans and a lot of other things don’t seem like they would be a good fit but whatever.

For quite a while, there were a number of vegetarians in my circle of friends and family. Most folks are omnivorous now but I still try to accommodate the veggies. It’s pretty easy to make two smaller lasagnas, one with meat and one without.

DON’T PRE-COOK THE NOODLES! DON’T PRE-COOK THE NOODLES! DON’T PRE-COOK THE NOODLES! There is no need to. Just layer the dry ones with everything else. All that sauce and stuff will cook them just fine. That is, if you USE dry noodles. Fresh noodles are fine too. I don’t buy them frequently only because they are perishable.

I think the first time I made lasagna (by myself), I used the recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook, which is definitely veggie. So that was my original source but over more years than I am strong enough to count, it has morphed all over the place, taking little hints from The Commander and Radical Betty along the way.

This is also my go-to dish for potlucks. One of my favorite lasagna memories is that once on the day of the cFam xmas party, I was recovering from a vomiting virus from hell. I was over the acute phase but had NO appetite and not enough energy to get up off the old Green Couch for anything more than visiting the Blue and Only Terlet (to P, not to vomit thank you very much). My mouse stepped up and took directions from me to make the lasagna herself. I actually recovered enough to make it to the party although I sat in the same chair the whole night. I think we also had an ice storm that night. Yes, we do know how to have fun😵‍💫

Anyway, I had a fun day making lasagna (and no it didn’t take anywhere near all day). Garlic bread and salad are also on the menu.

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