write. just write.

Sometimes I wonder what all the other people write about. Do they experience life so poignantly each day that they must write just to process it? Are others’ lives so extravagant or impoverished that they must write just to document its existence? Do some just flit about in normalcy, but have such active minds that they dissect its every significance in words? Are some able to reflect in writing, and thereby give meaning to their every quotidian moment?

I want to write about what matters, but must responsibly acknowledge that sometimes those thing only matter to me. I do not desire to divulge in writing my every woe or perception, or I fear all who read this blog would want to call me and check on me and really there would be no need. I do believe in filter—even for our own thoughts—as we can easily get carried away in emotion over this or that benign drama. I have probably already tried to work it out on pages (ones I publish to this blog and ones I do not) or in the rare conversation wherein a friend actually probes past the polite response to the southern “How are you?”.

With that said, I think we should all be writing. I think there are not enough long mornings over coffee or happy hours with friends to properly digest all that goes on in our fast moving days. I think that writing can help us be present in our very own life, when schedules and jobs and the blur of responsibilities cease to demand this of us.

I do not write so that some future generation will find my journal in a drawer and know what I ate for dinner that night. I do not write in order to discover the single one answer to any of life’s plaguing anxieties. I write because the act of writing, in itself, forces me to be cognizant of my blessings. I write because the day sometimes merits deconstruction and reconstruction and appreciation. I write because I want to remember, or maybe I want to digest and move on. I write because…why do you write?

Lasagna

...because this is wholesome and I would want to find this-- tomato juice stained and faded with age-- in some journal at my grandmother's house...

Ingredients

Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound Italian sweet sausages, casings removed

2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped

2 cups chopped onions

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes in juice, drained (juice reserved), tomatoes chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Lasagna

12 10x2-inch lasagna noodles

1 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 cups (packed) coarsely grated smoked mozzarella cheese, divided

1 large egg

Olive oil

Preparation

For sauce:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage; sauté until browned, breaking up with fork, about 6 minutes. Add prosciutto; stir 1 minute. Transfer mixture to bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and next 4 ingredients. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add tomatoes with reserved juice, basil, and sausage mixture. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

For lasagna:

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet. Stir ricotta and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella in bowl. Season with salt and pepper; mix in egg.

Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce evenly over bottom. Arrange 3 noodles atop sauce. Spread 3/4 cup cheese mixture thinly over noodles. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over. Repeat with noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce 2 more times. Cover with 3 noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil. DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Chill.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna, covered, 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes and serve

adapted only slightly from: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2004/03/smoked_cheese_and_sausage_lasana