I made a lasagne tonight – whenever we have lasagne it is me that makes it. Not that fascinating – pure beef, I would use mixed beef and pork but I’m not allowed to; just garlic, onion, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes and bit of stock added – I would use diced carrots and diced celery but I’m not allowed to; dried oregano along with the seasoning; béchamel sauce made with a strong cheddar – anything less than a strong cheddar is an act of futility in my book, (Gorganzola? That’s an impossible dream!) The one concession allowed to my quest for improved quality is that I made the pasta. And the biggest achievement? Having literally done not a thing towards it until just after 5:00pm, it was served, after its half-hour in the oven, at just before 7:30pm. And during its half-hour in the oven, I completely cleaned up the kitchen so that the teenagers have only a small pile of dishes to do after it was eaten, and made Marmite spaghetti for the younger ones.
No Chianti, I’m afraid, we had an Argentinian Malbec with it…