dinner with friends

We had dinner with friends this week.  I made dinner and we took it to their home.

I made bread:

And garlic butter:

And lasagne.  Lasagne is one of those things that is easy but time consuming that I make.  I may laugh here and say what else is new!

Lasagne

1 pound homemade pasta noodles (2 eggs, 2 cups of flour, two pinches of salt, water)

1 batch of spaghetti sauce (four to six cups)

1 batch of béchamel sauce (made with four cups of milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   In your baking dish, spread béchamel sauce on the bottom.  Put a layer on noodles (I do not cook, just use a lot of sauce).  Add a layer of pasta sauce.  Add a layer of bechamel sauce.  Repeat until your pan is full, ending with sauce.  I try to make sure all the noodles are covered.

Bake for one and half hour.

You can add other things to the lasagna.  I added spinach to the pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese between the layers.  I have served this just plain with noodles and sauces.  I know when I put this on the table in front of a group of friends I should just not expect to have anything leftover.  Unless of course, it is the roasting pan!  We had no leftovers from this dish and everyone was trying to save room for our friends FABULOUS chocolate chip cookies.  Good intentions and such you know!

after the potluck

We had a potluck at work today.  My usual reaction to a potluck is this will be interesting and wonder if there will be anything I am willing to eat.  The people on the floor I work on can cook!  This questions are no longer a concern other then what will we have the pleasure of eating this time!  

I actually had a request to bring my black bean soup.  It is scrumptious.  Here is the recipe.

Black Bean Soup

1 pound dry black beans

water

5 cloves garlic or to your taste, minced

1 fist size onion or to your taste, chopped fine

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ancho chili pepper ground

1/4 teaspoon chipolte chili pepper ground

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

In a large bowl or your crockpot insert, place the beans.  Wash them and pick them for stones.  Cover with water and let soak about eight hours.

 

Once the beans are soaked, rinse and place in a pot or crockpot.  My preference is a crockpot.  Cover them with water and about an inch higher.  Cook them until they are soft.  There are two choices here:  1) throw the onion and garlic in with them while they are cooking or 2) place onions and garlic in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil and caramelize, then add them to the cooked beans.  Each tastes a bit different both are good.

I sometimes add a whole head of garlic or a whole onion caramelized.

Add the spices.  Then blend with an immersion blender, regular blender, or smashing against the side of the pan/insert.  All work and give different textures.  This batch I blended until smooth because I just threw the onion and garlic in without chopping.

 

Make sure it is the thickness you want.  I usually have to add some water or broth.  EAT!

This is lovely in my tummy, both at the potluck (yes, I ate my own dish) and for dinner tonight.  Yes, I eat black bean soup in summer.  There is NOT a bad time of year for black bean soup!

a skirt

Before, after I posted yesterday, i did some cleaning out of my closet.  We used to have not enough hangers.  And even before the idea of paring my wardrobe down to six articles of clothing, I had been weeding out clothes.  Clothes that did not fit right.  Clothes that were not my style anymore.  Clothes that were falling apart.  Now, we have too many hangers.  I think it is time to give some away.

I did make a skirt recently.

I was moving when this picture was taken.  

This skirt works both at home and at work.  It actually needs to go in the wash already because it so comfortable and versatilel.  I am not sure how long it will last though because the fabric is called homespun and is fairly thin and soft.  It fits all the my requirements currently.  Work and home.  Now if it just wore like steal!

I do not mind this taking up a hanger.  I may empty a few more first (evil grin).

rethinking clothes

I have been in the corporate world almost twenty years.  Much too long.  I have never really felt comfortable wearing the clothes I am most comfortable in to work.  That means my closet and drawers are much fuller then they need to be.  Or I would like them to be.

I also read an interesting article in the New York Times last week about two people who decided to pare their wardrobe down to six pieces of clothing (except underwear) total.  This speaks to me.  I am not ready to do this, because I do love to sew.  But I am ready to start combining my wardrobes so the clothes that I wear at work are the same that I wear at home.  

So my addiction to aprons will come in handy.  It will help keep the clothes I wear unstained, cleaner longer for wearing around the house.  I can work on getting down to the six pieces of clothing.  I do not think I can do the frontier woman wardrobe of two dresses.  I am not there yet.

I do have a new apron:

I made this out of white muslin that Russell did not like for his shirts.  I added a colored binding and apron straps.  They should look familiar.  They are from a different dress!

I was thinking it would feel too white, but it actually does not.  The change in color helps.  I need more aprons and there is more of this fabric, so it is good.

How many aprons do I need you ask?  I figure a minimum of five for each kitchen.  Three kitchens.  That means fifteen aprons.  Russell says eight per kitchen.  That would mean twenty four.  Maybe the better statement is enough aprons so I always have a clean one when I need one.

Another dress

This last weekend I got a few dresses started.  

They really do not take that long but I do have to sit and sew on the buttons.  And make the buttonholes.  I do that by hand.  

Russell calls them my Pride and Prejudice dresses because they are a bit more fitted then my frontier dresses.  They still go close to the ground.  The funny thing at work today I was craving the same dress in corduroy.  Black, brown, green, and red.  Probably more then one black.  I am laughing at myself because that is just not practical for the season.  I think I am really craving autumn!