Lasagna, Nasturtium Salad, and Bittman Bread. Take Two.

     Yesterday was the OSAA state cross-country championships.  One of the schools that went to the championships was Cleveland High School, and though the girls team got 4th, and the boys team took 6th, I'm excited.  Next year, the girls team will have lost only one of their runners to graduation, and the boys team will have done equally well, bringing back their top two runners (who are twins) for another year.  I'm really excited for cross-country next year.  I'm also excited for dinner tonight, Dad is putting one of his loaves into the oven, the sauce for our lasagna is on the stove, and we've planned to attempt the salad from our hoisin chicken meal (June 27, 2010).  For dessert, we've got a good sized stash of Halloween candy.

     The past few times Dad has made bread, it hasn't quite lived up to the luster of the loaf in that first Mark Bittman tribute dinner.  This time though, he thinks he's figured out what he's doing wrong, and the loaf is progressing well.  The lasagna is nearing it's final assembly, and it's getting dark outside.  That's one of the things about daylight savings time.  I mean, its great that when I woke up at seven this morning, the sun had already started its arc through the sky.  But the payback is that it's completely dark outside by half past 5:00.

     The lasagna has been assembled, and is in the oven for it's hour long bake.  Dad's loaf is ready, and like the first time he has put out a little olive oil and sherry vinegar on a plate.  Is it as good as the first time?  Yes, it is.  The crust is thin and crunchy, though it doesn't detract from the softness of the loaf inside.

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     The lasagna was excellent.  It was a different recipe than we've used previously, and it was simpler than previous renditions.  The lasagna was packed full of meat (including some of the pork sausage that wasn't put to use last week)  and cheese.  The ricotta/egg mixture wasn't used as much as the other recipe, (which greatly disappointed Mimi) and it had a shorter baking time.  Its too late in the season for the nasturtiums, they didn't have much nectar, and we had to reject a few of the flowers Dad picked because of slug damage and mold.  Lasagna is always a good meal, this time especially.