Mmmm...

It already smells good! 

Just a small pot of sauce, I’m making lasagna tonight.  I really had a craving for chicken parmesan, but my quilt group meets tonight so I needed something easy that Jim could just heat up when he gets home, as I’ll likely be gone by then.

I’ve had a batch of dough fermenting for a few days, and will make a nice crusty loaf of bread to go along with the lasagna.

Can’t you just smell that?  I go crazy over the aroma of fermented dough, I really don’t even care for bread anymore that uses dough mixed the same day.

All shaped and ready to rise for a couple of hours, then it gets baked in a clay dutch oven at 500 degrees.

I’m very sad that my garden was such a flop this year, as I’m nearly out of my canned tomato sauce.  Without it, I can’t make a really good sauce.  When I can tomatoes for making marinara and sauces, I  run all my tomatoes along with some peppers, onions and garlic through my food mill, so it’s pure juice, then simmer it down all day long until most of the water cookes off, leaving an intensely concentrated sauce… it’s just incredible! 

For lasagna sauce, I add more onions and garlic, portobella mushrooms, fresh rosemary and basil, red wine, and a handful of diced sun dried tomatoes, they make the flavor explode on your tongue!  Oh and of course Italian sausage.. I use sweet for lasagna.

Now that dinner is out of the way, I’m going to work on the pink and green toddler quilt some more.  Here’s my progress so far… yep, I’m sure taking my sweet time with this one!

It’d be nice if I finished the blocks up today, but I’m not holding my breath.  I’d rather be cooking… or out driving the Magster!

I did get another asparagus bed weeded, so all three of them are done.  When enough leaves come down, I’ll rake them and mulch the beds with the leaves.

Comments

[Chris]

Darn, I just hit a wrong key and my whole comment disappeared! Now what was I saying...

Oh yes, I'm coming to your house for dinner tonight. :-) I so miss living where I can grow tomatoes. I loved my beautiful quarts of them lined up and also the marinara I used to make. My kitchen's just not the same without them.

Oh, and you need to leave a note for Jim, along with the lasagna--tell him Chris says he's one lucky dog to be married to you!

[Carol in Phoenix]

Yum can I come too? You were baking bread in a cast iron casserole at one time. Do you ever use that method now?

[Gwynette in NW Arkansas]

You are such a tease with the culinary delights. We had the crusty fermented bread with a pot of ham hocks and pinto beans and potatoes Anna last evening. Making a pot of chili tonight with a fresh 'loaf'.

I think I am in hibernation mode. I just want to cook good things and of course, eat them. I'm storing up for a hard winter.... LOL!!!

[Karen]

sounds good, I haven't made lasagna in awhile. Love homemade bread, haven't done that either - I will when it starts getting colder.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

[Karen in GA]

Ooooh, that sauce looks good. I love mushrooms in tomato sauce. Do you have the recipe somewhere?
Karen in GA

[Vivian]

I wish I liked to cook. Thankfully, my husband doesn't mind cooking. He doesn't like to clean up the mess so I usually do that.

Be careful for the sunburn on these nice, cool days. lol

[Polly]

YOU ARE A GOURMET GODDESS!!! :-)