Scribbles in the Margin: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Several months ago Tim and I were at Borders picking up a gift or some such thing...generally milling about while looking at books and trying to decide if we should have leftovers for supper or dine out before heading home. We're a thrilling couple.

As we wandered through the stacks and I bitched and moaned about the unavailability of The Bones of Plenty Tim would pull out a random book and tell me to buy it. Most of them promptly went back...I really don't need a pocket guide to podiatry or a how-to for making head-cheese, but the one book Tim actually, seriously told me to buy did come home.

Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

This book completely captivated my attention. Now, this probably because this book is mostly about the process of architecture, design and construction. The theme of never enough time, money or man-power is apparently exactly the same whether it's 1892 or 2008. But this isn't just any tightly wound project, it's the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and it was conceived, built, celebrated and destroyed in just 4 short years. Innovations from centralized water processing to the invention of the Ferris Wheel defined a Fair who's intent was to showcase the United States as an emerging world power and source of ingenuity and invention.

Apart from depicting the struggles behind the beautiful facades, there is the story of "Dr." H.H.Holmes who used the masses of people traveling to Chicago to feed his darker, more sinister desires. Intertwining the construction of a national event with the emergence of the first documented serial killer may not seem intuitive, but they feed each other, emphasizing the disparity of the unparalleled hope and joy of the Fair to the dark psychosis of the killer.

If you're still not sold, this is far from dry. The writing is crisp, fluid and the text reads like a crime thriller.

The Home Cook: Lasagna

I really don't like leftovers. Some how I'm sure that in no way surprises any of you. My one concession over the years has been that I will take a serving of whatever was made the night the before to work as lunch. As the years have passed I have gotten pretty good at this cooking for two, minimal leftover approach. Making pork chops? Make 4...two for supper, two for lunches. Have a recipe for a 9x13 casserole? Half it for an 8"x8" casserole! There are of course times when this approach does not work. Maybe the recipe doesn't half easily, or it's an odd size to begin with, but sometimes a recipe is just seems to taste better when you make the whole darn thing.

Lasagna is definitely one of those recipes. I do have a "petite" lasagna recipe and it is quite small, and a glass loaf pan is actually quite a nice size for two people...but as much as I want to like it, it just doesn't quite taste the same as my fat 9x13" pan of the stuff. Which leaves me in a bit of a quandary, what do you do with 2/3rds of a pan of lasagna after you've eaten it for three meals and can't stand to look at it any more? Why, you freeze it of course. In all mealdom I'm not sure if there is a more perfect food for freezing.



Once we've eaten all we can stand, which honestly isn't usually all that much, I slice the remainder of the pan, wrap the slices in foil and put them in a resealable bag or container in the freezer. Viola! Instant lunches. Once you've decided that there is absolutely nothing in the fridge to take to work or the idea of one more ham sandwich is threatening to drive you to the brink, pluck one of these frozen packets from the freezer, pack it in your ultra awesome lunch bag and head out for the day. No need for refrigeration, by the time lunch has rolled around, your lasagna cube should be defrosted (but still safely chilled) and ready to quickly reheat. Instant yum. Since beginning this over a year and a half ago, I usually have sliced meatloaf, individually wrapped chimichangas/enchiladas, the lasagna or small bowls of soup floating around in my freezer. Lunch at work is a whole lot more pleasant too...after all I can always leave last nights leftovers in the fridge for Tim and take one of these instead.

Lasagna
Mostly created via major adaptation from Pillsbury One-Dish Meals

1 lb Ground Beef or a blend of ground beef, pork and /or turkey
1/4 lb Italian Sausage
1/2 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz sliced Mushrooms
2-4 Tablespoons Red Wine
1 24oz jar Spaghetti Sauce (or your favorite Marinara/Red Sauce Recipe)

Lasagna Noodles (Approximately 12-16)

1 15oz container Ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt & Pepper
2 teaspoons dried Parsley or 1 Tablespoons of fresh Parsley
Mozzarella Cheese, sliced or finely shredded

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a glass 9x13x2" dish.

Put a salted pot of water on to boil and cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet brown ground beef (pork/turkey) and sausage over medium heat just until pink is gone. Remove from heat and drain off excess fat and set aside. Return pan to high heat and add in onions and garlic and saute until onions are clear and garlic is fragrant. Stir in mushrooms and saute until just browned, 1-2 minutes. Pour in wine and cook on high for one minute, reduce heat to low and scrape off bottom of pan. Return meat mixture to pan and stir in desired amount of sauce; simmer on low while lasagna noodles cook.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg. Stir in ricotta, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and desired amounts of parsley and pepper.

Layering:
- Thin meat Layer
- Lasagna Noodles with edges slightly overlapped
- 1/3rd of the Ricotta mixture
- Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 of remaining Meat & Sauce mixture
- Lasagna Noodles with edges slightly overlapped
- 1/3rd of the Ricotta mixture
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Remaining Meat & Sauce Mixture
- Lasagna Noodles with edges slightly overlapped
- Remaining Ricotta mixture
- Mozzarella Cheese

Bake dish for 40 minutes or until dish is bubbly and top is lightly golden.


Cook's Notes:

- Spaghetti Sauce: I'll use whatever, but I especially like Classico's Roasted Garlic. Also most people would use the whole 24oz jar, but I like my lasagna less saucy than most.

- Mushrooms: I use 1 4oz can of button mushrooms. Anyone with taste would probably use their favorite variety of fresh, sliced.

- The wine is optional, but it makes me sad without it.

- I know that no-cook varieties of lasagna noodles exist, I just don't care for their texture or how much moisture they suck out of the pan while it bakes.

- I have never tried this with cottage cheese, but I'm sure it could work...you may have to drain some of the whey off though.

- Seasonings are all adaptable by huge amounts

- In a 9x13 pan this is a thinner lasagna, for a deeper slice I have gotten this to fit into a 11x7" casserole, but there needs to be a bit of foil under the dish while it bakes to catch drips.

The Crafty Bits: Needle Rolls (F)

So I mentioned that I had bought myself some new crochet hooks. They're beautiful and wonderful to work with and are lovely to behold and much longer than a standard metal hook. This unfortunately means that my hook roll? Totally useless. Which is a bummer because my hook roll is one of the first things I made on my ultra fabulous sewing machine. It's a set of coordinated batiks, lined to protect the hooks and was quite the accomplishment in and of itself.

So on Sunday, needing a bit of a break from knitting and having another little sewing project that was urgent, I broke out the fabric, pins, notions and got to work. Now, having made one of these in the past I assumed that this would be rather painless and also rather mistake free. Yeah, I know...I should have known better. That's not to say that this was the train wreck that usually happens when I'm anywhere near a sewing machine...but Fons & Porter I am not. Anyway, regardless of the stuck fingers and temperamental seamstress I eventually wound up with not only a roll for my hooks, but also one for my DPN's! (DPN=Double Pointed Needle)

The blue roll is a set of batiks I picked up years ago (the purple was used for my previous roll); the knitting chicken roll is fabric from my mother-in-law.

Other than a still mystifying transition between the bottom inside flap and a poorly placed tie around on one roll, they work and look great!

The Home Cook: Granola

When I know I'm going to be busy, I generally raid my SD card, format a million pictures, slap them into draft forms on my blog editor and then gently release them between panic attacks, not unlike letting a message in bottle drift away from a lonesome desert island as you slowly freak out because your going to die.

As of right now there are six unreleased posts sitting in my blog editor. Most them about food, all them with poor quality photos and all of them relating to things that I'm rather over. There are Apple Danish Bars, selecting sweet corn, lasagna, sesame chicken, paninis and one about my first pair of socks.(On second thought we'll come back to some of those.) So instead of using any of those over the last two weeks, as my life slowly crashed into a brick wall, I took a picture of some granola.

Yes, granola. I am that kind of yuppie. My quest for a yummy granola started a bit less than a year ago. I have startlingly high cholesterol and the number one doctor's recommendation was to eat oatmeal...and since my favorite premade granola was $5-6 PER BOX and only lasted A WEEK...well, this home cook had to do something about it. Since then I've tried a few granola recipes, but none really said, "YES! You will make me again and again and again because I am The One." This recipe did just that. It's sweet, a touch salty (see notes below) and so very easy to customize that I don't see myself getting tired of it any time soon. Which is probably good since I have a feeling I'll be eating granola for a long time to come.

Granola
Adapted From ourkitchensink.wordpress

3 1/2 cups Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Sweetened Coconut Flakes
3 Tablespoons Flax Seeds
2 Tablespoons Wheat Germ
3/4 cup roughly chopped Pecans, toasted
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Sea Salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Canola Oil
2 generous Tablespoons Honey
1 Tablespoon pure Maple Syrup
4 teaspoons Vanilla
2 cups Dried Fruit
1 cup Golden Raisins

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed sheet with aluminum foil.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the dried fruit. Stir well to incorporate. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until the granola is the desired golden brown color.

Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack. After the mixture has cooled, stir in the fruit and raisins. Store in an air tight container for up to two weeks.


Cook's Notes:

- I think you could use 1 teaspoon of regular sea salt, my container has grinder on it and using one teaspoon of ground sea salt made it vaguely salty. I liked that, but most people wouldn't. I think you could also use 1 teaspoon or a bit less of kosher salt.

- The original recipe calls for unsweetened coconut, but I like the sweet. Mmmmmm sweet angel flake coconut.

- For dried fruit I dried some blueberries, raspberries and strawberries since I was cleaning out the freezer, but any fruit will do. Cranberries would be especially delicious.

- Instead of lining a baking sheet I use a Teflon roasting pan...works like a charm and I can mix everything in it directly. Yay for minimizing dirty dishes!!