Lost Angels

Yesterday I finally sent off the piece I'd been working on and Mom and I celebrated with my very own creation, Zucchini Lasagna (recipe below) and a bottle of Lost Angel which is my new favourite wine. It's really intimidating cooking for Mom but I was pretty proud of this dinner.

Mom also took me to hear a piano quartet featuring the youngest daughter of my childhood voice teacher.
The last time I saw Maddy she was a toddler with a huge toothless grin. Now she's a married woman with her mother's musical talent and a beautiful well-dentafriced smile. I felt remarkably old. She played some Chopin, my favourite, and a delicate little piece at the end of the evening that I found enchanting.

 Watching her play though I was reminded of my best friend in high school who was also a pianist. She had the same haircut Sara had all those years ago and, from the back, it could have been her playing. I don't think of her often but last night, when I was reminded of her, for some reason I missed her intensely. Not her, per se, I know she's a different person now than she was then, as am I, but I was overwhelmed with nostalgia and wanted to be on one of our long walks talking about politics and religion and philosophy. In truth, I think she ruined me for future relationships with women, my expectations are impossibly high now, but how amazing to meet your kindred soul at all in this vast universe, even if you did only share a brief moment in time.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

1 Roma tomato
1 carrot
1/2 red onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lb ground meat
2 T Italian seasoning (Clubhouse)
1/2 jar pizza sauce (Catelli Spicy Garlic)
2 zucchinis
1 small container Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tsp sage
chili flakes to taste

Method

1) Saute onions until soft. Add garlic. Add meat and brown.Grate carrot into meat. Add pizza sauce and Italian seasoning. Turn element down to low.

2) While sauce is simmering cut zucchini in half and then lengthwise into 1/4" slices. Drizzle with oil and grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

3) Mix sage, chili pepper flakes and ricotta cheese together. 

4) Place four zucchini slices on the bottom of the pan.

5) Layer meat sauce on top of zucchini slices.

6) Layer another four slices on top of the meat sauce

7) Layer on the ricotta cheese mixture and slices of roma tomatoes

8) Lay on the remaining zucchini slices and top with smoked gouda cheese

9)  Cover and bake in oven at 400 until cheese has melted approx. 10 mins.