Lessons in the Lasagna of Life
Dipping Into Fun
Not gonna lie, it’s been a chore lately to blog, for a variety of reasons:
I’ve a new novel I’m working on and a non-fiction work of magikal philosophy that I’m editing for the 73rd time to prepare for submission to publishers. [Uh, none of that is a brag. I don’t HAVE a publisher. I don’t even have a whiff of a glimpse of a publisher anywhere on the horizon. But it’s the thought that counts.]
In the above situation, self-promotion becomes a tiresome chore. Published authors might say in response, “Uh, Bethany, it only gets worse when you do get a publisher!”
I really love to write, and much of that love is dissolved in knowing that, in part, I post here to self-promote. But what kind of self am I promoting if what I’m writing here isn’t written from the sheer fun and love of doing it?
I’m really, really, [no, REALLY] discouraged by the deluge of hate being poured out against my trans posse these days, to the point trans folks are being murdered with no consequence, stochastically encouraged by educational, governmental, social-media, and religious institutions.
Which, in turn, has led to my killing off in my feed any political news. This is an election year. A lot hangs in the balance for me and my trans cohort, and, um, yeah, I’m so discouraged that I refuse to let that incessant drivel plague my thoughts on a daily basis.
Positive Reasons for Not Blogging Lately
In the spirit of leading with the bad news, following with the good news, I have some very happy reasons why I won’t gift the better part of myself over to self-promotional blogging and sosh-meeds scrollage:
Fuck yeah, I’m reading so many good, good things lately—
- Bill Bryson’s The Road to Little Dribbling and Notes from a Small Island make me guffaw and force Pam to listen to me read passages aloud (it’s a full-time job being the spouse o’ Babs);
- The Witches: Salem 1692 by Stacy Schiff, while grim reading, actually lends comforting insight into the contemporary assholish transphobic tsunami;
- The Matter of Wales by Jan Morris makes me feel like I’m about to come to my homeland for the first time.Double-fuck yeah, I’ve been watching so many good, good things lately—
- Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote and produced this, the most brilliant and absolutely original television I’ve seen in years. It’s about time we have a creator of this calibre strutting their talent, and Bridge delivers in droves!
- Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. It’s sad that he’s dead, but his frank encounter with life in various exotic and quixotic places grants me hope for taking on new adventures;
- Only Murders in the Building. Just too fucking fun;
- A guilty pleasure and nod to not-the-highest-quality-but-still-addictive-TV is the Brit Doc Martin series. The acting is threadbare at times, the stories contrived, every character displays faults that make me not wanna love any of ‘em (though I do)—all reasons to just shut off the damn thing and not buy another season … and yet, I look at Pam and sheepishly whine, “Um, would you hate me if we watched another episode?” [See above^^ for the labors of living with Babsie B.]
- I’m intrigued by the March-1st debut of AppleTV’s The Adventures of Dick Turpin. I adore Noel Fielding, and if the trailer is any indication, he’ll be positively daffy in this offering.Triple-dog-daringly fuck yeah—if you’ve noticed a Welsh and British bent to most of the above entertainment/reading choices, well, I’m thrilled to say that, in late spring, I’ll be traveling to Wales, the Westlands, and Oxford, so I’m in Babsie-obsession-mode with all things to do with parts of that North Sea island, to the point of learning Welsh on DuoLingo!
Is there a fourth-level ratcheting of Fuck Yeah? If so, it’s that I’ve been baking my ass off. [But you knew that already.]
Many Reasons to NOT Succumb to Blogging as a Chore
I just won’t do it. When I started this thing, I told Pam [as mentioned earlier, Pam enjoys no such thing as an unpublished thought o’ mine] that I was gonna write whatever the fuck I wanted in whatever the fuck way I wanted at whatever the fuck time I wanted.
So, I do. And I suppose that’s why I don’t have publishers lining up at my door.
People can’t take me in small doses. I’m a dumptruck-load or nuthin’ sorta gal. If life as I lead it does become insanely popular, well, then, the garish stuff you see in the Book of Revelation might really be coming to pass. So, use my success as a handy apocalyptic barometer.
The Barometer of Fun
Having tried on about every philosophy/way of life one can imagine, I’ve learned about another barometer—the only one I’ve found essential.
I don’t mean some ephemeral, ditzy, of-no-consequence indicator. [I mean, really, would anyone fun in, say, the Mr. Bean way ever use the word, “ephemeral” to describe their sense of fun?]
What I mean by fun is what I call Dipping Myself Into It, or DMII, which, now that I look at the acronym, tellingly resembles the DSM-V. Uh-huh. Spot-on for Babsie. And DMII is more than okay.
It’s me getting to be me. Enjoying being me so much that I jump in head-first, and paddle and float and dive, till I make otter antics look comatose.
Today’s DMII Lasagna Life Lesson went like this. We had a friend over last night for dinner and to watch a movie (old favorite, The Boondock Saints), so I made lasagna, from scratch, to the point that Pam had to talk me out of making my own ricotta, which I really wanted to do because, well, it’s fun! [Mind you, Pam wasn’t trying to kill my fun'. She just didn’t want the whole lasagna project to fail because of the possibility of the homemade ricotta not setting. Wise soul, that Pam.]
You may not find that fun. You might right now be closing this tab and shaking your head at my seeming absurdity. That’s cool. It’s still fun.
This morning, I took a slice to a friend who didn’t close the tab, but who hugged me and indulged me even when I told her that, next time, I will make the ricotta from scratch.
And my heart sang.
She didn’t look at me strangely. She got it. I didn’t need her to not look at me strangely in order to find the encounter with her also fun. We just funned for a moment and went on with our lives.
I Wonder Then …
… if the things in the struggle list above can’t be funned. Imma gonna give it a try. Future posts, made in the spirit of fun, will let ya know how that ricotta life turns out. Till then, try some lasagna.
Lamb & Sausage Strega Lasagna
Prep Time: 1hr Cook Time: 40-55min Total Time: 1.75-2hrs Difficulty: Hard Servings: Servings 8
EQUIPMENT
Lg Frying Pan
Spatula, wooden or silicone
Lg slotted spoon
Disposable container, for fat
Stand Mixer, w/ beater
Lg Saucepan, w/ lotsa salt
Tongs, to remove noodles from blanching
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
9x13in (23x33cm) baking dish
Ladle
Meat/Baking Thermometer
Grater
INGREDIENTS
Meat Filling:
2-3T olive oil
1 lg onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1lb (454g) lamb, ground
1lb (454g) Italian sausage, ground
0.5C (120ml) red wine
0.5C (120ml) stock
1t rosemary, ground
Cheese Filling:
2 lg eggs, beaten
1lb (454g) ricotta cheese
4 oz (113g) shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping
4 oz (113g) shredded provolone, plus more for topping
3⁄8C (40g) Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for topping
3⁄8C (40g) Romano cheese, grated, plus more for topping
1t Italian seasoning
1t basil, dried
1t oregano, dried
1t Parsley, dried
1t salt
1t pepper
1⁄4t nutmeg, ground 1⁄8t pepper
Pasta:
12 Homemade B*tch Lasagna Noodles [recipe to come in future post]
Red Sauce:
4C (950ml) Sunday Strega-Cauldron Spaghetti Sauce (Marinara or Meat)
Topping:
Grated mixture of mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, & Romano cheeses
DIRECTIONS
Red Sauce
1. The night before, make sauce per Sunday Strega-Cauldron Spaghetti Sauce (Marinara or Meat) recipe.
Pasta
2. Make pasta per Homemade B*tch Lasagna Noodles recipe [recipe to come in future post].
Meat
3. Heat olive oil in frying pan and brown lamb, sausage, onion, and garlic, adding red wine and stock in small amounts as mixture sautés. Season w/ rosemary as you go.
4. Once browned, transfer mixture to bowl w/ slotted spoon and drain fat into separate container, to be discarded after cooling. Set aside meat to cool.
Cheese Filling
5. In mixer bowl, combine Cheese Filling ingredients, and beat on low speed (KitchenAid 1-2), till combined. Set aside, or cover & refrigerate till needed.
Blanch Pasta
6. Bring heavily salted saucepan of water to boil.
7. Blanch 3 lasagna noodles at a time in boiling water 1 min then transfer to clean kitchen towel to dry.
Assembly
8. Pre-heat oven to 400°F/200°C (425°F/210°C, High Altitude).
9. Oil baking dish. Set aside.
10a. Ladle and spread thin layer red sauce on baking dish bottom, and line with single layer of lasagna noodles.
10b. Repeat thin layer of red sauce on previous layer of lasagna noodles, then spread layer of cheese filling over that. Line cheese with next layer of lasagna noodles.
10c. Repeat thin layer of red sauce on previous layer of lasagna noodles, then spread layer of meat filling over that. Line meat with next layer of lasagna noodles.
10d. Repeat Steps 10b-c, till you have 6 total layers.
11. Top with final layer of red sauce and grated cheese mixture.
12. Bake uncovered 10-15min, then tent top of baking dish with foil, baking another 30-40 min, till golden and bubbling. Thermometer should read at least 165°F (74°C) when probe inserted into center/middle of lasagna.
13. Rest 10 min, then cut and serve, topped with red sauce.