A Week of Cooking

I've been in Lancaster this week, visiting the fiance and a very cuddly bulldog. She's resting her chin on my shoulder as I type. It's probably the ideal way to spend a Sunday evening. Time spent in Lancaster has always been special since I consider Mike's apartment here our home together. I obviously don't live here with him, but we did make the trip out here to search for it together, and we have decorated it together. 

Mike's back to teaching this week, so I took care of some of my own semester prep while he was at work, and then we used the afternoons to do fun things together. We got to work reviewing some of our wedding vendor proposals and have contracts in the works for both our venue and our photographer! We took a trip to the jeweler's so that I could meet the lovely lady that sold Mike my engagement ring and we could browse around a bit for wedding bands. We put together the new entertainment center that Mike's parents gifted us with and marveled at how it transformed the TV. As Mike put it, "the best way I can describe it is that the TV is now wearing proper-fitting clothes." We took the pooch for a walk on the first sun-drenched afternoon we had. We used a restaurant.com coupon to try out a new sushi restaurant and had a delicious dinner and a show (a customer at another table loudly lectured the waitress and manager about how the food should be prepared and presented, but apparently thought the food was tasty enough because she took it home -- we think she just wanted to knock some dollars off the bill), went to the gym almost every day this week, and took a trip to Central Market so I could get my fix for the world's most delicious long john (seriously, they're so good that I'm wondering if we can have them delivered to our wedding). And we've cooked. 

One of our favorite activities as a couple is cooking, and it's been nice to get back into the kitchen after a season of dining our with friends and relatives. Mike is currently cooking up some tofu vindaloo, so I'll have to wait to report on its level of tastiness, but our other two dishes have been huge hits! Hurray for knocking out three Pinterest pins in one week! We'll start with the spinach and mushroom lasagna with pesto. Mike is a firm believer that pesto anything has got to be delicious. Here, the pesto gets mixed into a cream sauce that begins with deliciously sauteed onions, mushrooms, and red bell peppers. The red pepper really helps introduce some crunch and a bite of freshness among the creamier elements. The mushrooms are chopped coarsely so that there's a meaty, textural component to the dish, which is a perfect balance against the creamy spinach ricotta filling. Make it early in the week and enjoy the leftovers for lunch (and maybe dinner, too) for the next few days. 

Spinach, Mushroom, and Pesto Lasagna
From The Other Side of Fifty

9 lasagna noodles (we used whole wheat noodles and ended up preparing the whole box- it took 5 noodles to create a layer that would fill our baking dish)
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 cups diced onion
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
dash of crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces of button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups Half & Half
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp basil pesto (we bought some in the Italian aisle at Giant)
12 oz mozzarella cheese (slices work well)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8"  x 11 1/2" baking dish with cooking spray.

In a separate baking dish place lasagna noodles and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes while making the sauce.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, garlic powder and egg. Season well with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions and bell pepper, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes and saute until onions are translucent, 6-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until mushrooms lose their moisture, another 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. Continue cooking and stirring over medium heat for two minutes. Add the milk and half & half, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes until sauce has thickened a bit. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup pesto. Taste to see if salt and pepper are needed.

Drain lasagna noodles.

Spoon 2 tbsp of the pesto on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay three (or five) noodles on top of the pesto. Top with 1/3 of the basil cream sauce (about 1 1/2 cups) and spread to cover noodles. Dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce, then top the ricotta with 1/3 of the cheese slices. Repeat layers two more times. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place dish in oven. Bake for 25 minutes, uncover, then bake for another 25 minutes, until bubbly and browned. Let dish sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. (Definitely don't rush this last step- it helps keep your lasagna in manageable pieces!) 

So go round up your ingredients and enjoy pictures of our walk with a very cute bulldog.

Hello 2014!

I started blogging again last fall as I found myself amidst the uncertainly of starting a new job, the sadness of having my boyfriend move away to the east coast, and the hard reality that my research wasn't going to conduct itself. Writing has always brought me comfort, and it was something that I looked forward to in the days when my mind seemed to be racing all the time and I was still trying to settle into a routine. It helped a lot in those initial weeks when I felt a little lost and lonely, and as I started to discover new blogs through the ones I read regularly, I found that there are actually quite a few lovely people who are experiencing some of the very same things. There are always tough weeks, and even tough months, but there's solace in everything if you know where to look.

Looking back, last fall was filled with so many wonderful things. The beauty of a true fall that brought crisp mornings, gorgeous foliage, and a number of pleasant drives, visits with Mike, a stellar guest lecture, spending time with friends and their newborns, and the anticipation of Thanksgiving and then the holidays. The weeks after Thanksgiving were a little tough; my students had little motivation and I, too, found it hard to be lively and bubbly in every one of my classes. Winter break was just around the corner, but it simply couldn't come soon enough.

And then I gave four hours worth of final oral exams, with students coming in one after the next, and I finally felt exhilarated that I would soon be heading home to Maryland and Mike. I took myself over to the cutest little jewel of a restaurant that is truly a gem in Greencastle, Indiana, had the most delicious lunch of Christmas tea, curried sweet potato soup, half a tuna sandwich and coconut cream pie for dessert. It was magical. The restaurant was nearly empty and I slowly thawed from the cold drafts that had been creeping into my office and the light snow swirling around outside as I drank my tea. The half dozen of beautifully decorated Christmas trees was enough to keep my spirits boosted for the entire afternoon. And then I rushed home at the end of the day to have Thai food with Trisha, Grant, and my sweet little nephew.

Fast forward one more week, and I was on my way home to Maryland. I had trouble sleeping, so I woke up at 5, and was on the road by 6 am. My car was packed with load of Christmas gifts and all my best outfits because what I was really looking forward to was Mike's proposal. I knew it was going to happen over winter break, it was just a matter of how. We both got there on Thursday night and immediately went out to pick up some take-out from a local Chinese restaurant. We barely had time to settle in the next day as we rushed to Michaels and the grocery store to pick up everything we needed for an ornament decorating party we were hosting that night. As soon as we got back to the house, I scrambled to make mini apple tarts, goat cheese bruschetta, and a few other snacks for our little party. Thankfully, everyone was running late as usual, so when they all arrived at 6, we were ready to relax and have fun. It was Mer and Guy, Nicole, Mike, and me, and it was such a lovely night.

As Mike and I were cleaning up and getting ready to head to bed, we finally had a minute to process everything. We were back together for the next month and excited for all of the things that we had planned. And then he proposed. It was after teeth had been brushed, faces had been washed, and the pooch had been put to bed. We were talking about the uncertainty that this new year would bring-- both of us going on the job market again, a move to somewhere over the summer, and the beginning of a building a life together. The lights were off, but when he reached over to dig around in his suitcase, I knew what was coming. I didn't move right away-- I wanted to take a minute to remember as many details as I could since I knew this was going to be the moment, but then I realized that I couldn't see a thing. He simply said he loved me, wanted to be with me forever, and asked if I would marry him. Short and sweet. I said yes, and after we sat there for a moment, me leaning over the side of the bed, him kneeling down, he asked if I wanted to see the ring. Since he had closed the ring box, I was in suspense all over again as he sat down in front of me and asked if I was ready. I didn't start crying until I saw the ring. It was a better version of what I imagined. And then I got really excited. I flew down the hall at 1:30 in the morning, arms flailing as I jumped up in down in front of my aunt. She looked at me as if to say, "what is wrong?!" and then I waved my hand in front of her. Then she got excited and did a little dance, and in one of my favorite moments of the whole event, walked over to Mike who was just coming down the hall and gave him a hug as she said "thank you" in a tone that suggested what she was really saying was "thank you for not making her wait any longer" or possibly, "thank you for taking her on". We all laughed. My brother was sleeping, so I jumped on his bed and said "you gotta just open your eyes, just for a second" and when he opened them, I shoved my ring in his face and then gave him permission to go back to sleep. And then it was after 2, and I couldn't sleep. I had to turn on the TV to calm the sheer excitement I felt so we could get to sleep and then wake up the next morning and tell everyone the news!

The proposal came in the wee hours of December 21, just two days before my birthday. It made for a pretty splendid birthday. A fun Christmas Eve tradition of candle-light church service and finger food for dinner followed, along with muffins, gift opening, and a decadent dinner of surf and turf on Christmas. We went to Redwood in Bethesda for an early dinner on New Year's Eve and had one of the best meals we've both ever had. Mike came down with the flu, but quickly recovered a few days later, and then, because I had really been planning our wedding for about three months already, we started looking at wedding venues!

So far, 2014 has brought us the promise of finding our first home together in next six months and the excitement of planning our summer 2015 wedding. It has also brought new potential career prospects for me, and a certain sense of validation knowing that the past fourteen years of language learning are really amounting to something. And that, in turn, has been really exciting for both of us, knowing that new opportunities and adventures await us.

Taken the morning of our engagement. 

A wonderfully thoughtful gift given to us by one of my best friend's parents.