I went to lunch with a Bill Turner at Sushi Hana at 521 Central NW.
We both ordered bento boxes. Bill ordered Shrimp Yakisoba for $11.95 and I ordered grilled eel for $13.95. Besides the entrée each the compartments in the bento box are filled with an egg roll, tempura, four pieces of nori sushi roll and a piece of watermelon. I asked that salad be substituted for the usual rice that gave me a double helping of salad a bowl with salad served with the Miso soup before the meal and the large rice section in the bento box filled with salad instead of white rice), which was great because I loved the crisp romaine lettuce dressed with a sweet ginger dressing.
The grilled eel was interesting also; dark tender meat tasting of both land and sea.
Today the tempura fried shrimp really captured my attention also. The combination of grease, crisp, fried tempura batter, and white fluffy shrimp when dipped into the teriyaki sauce that metamorphosed their individual characteristics and flavors into a unified new food experience, like a good corny dog dipped into the mixture of mustard and catsup.
After lunch Bill and I talked about history, books, his family, and water law for another one and one-half hours in his office. I treasure my lunches and discussions with Bill.
Suzette had agreed that we would use the meat and mushroom spaghetti sauce to make a lasagna utilizing fresh squash from our garden instead of pasta.
So at 4:00 I drove slowly to El Super through the congested construction zone on Central at the river
crossing. I knew what I needed and quickly found spinach for $.79 per bunch, requeson (Mexican ricotta style cheese) for $2.59 per lb., shredded Monterrey jack cheese for $3.29 per lb. and two ½ lb. containers of nice white mushrooms for $1.29 each. I also bought about ¾ lb. of bacon trimmings for $2.29 per lb., two 30 oz. cans of black beans on sale for $1.50 and a small ½ oz. bag of dried bay laurel leaves for $1.29 that smelled wonderful, to replenish our larder.
I finally lay down for ½ hour and watched the business news at 5:00 when I returned home and unloaded the items until 5:30. Although my hip pain is almost gone I find it helpful to take weight off my hip when possible. After the business news at 5:30 I fetched the spaghetti sauce from the garage fridge and brought the approximately ½ gallon of sauce to a simmer by adding about two cups of water to it and heating the pot of sauce at medium heat on the stove to cook the tomatoes a bit more and emulsify the sauce a bit and add some moisture to the lasagna.
Suzette arrived just after I began stirring the pot of sauce a bit after 5:30 with three medium sized yellow squashes and a handful of baby yellow squashes from her Center for Ageless Living organic garden in Los Lunas and I got up and arranged the food and baking dish for the lasagna. We decided to go to the garden to harvest several of our squashes. As we walked out to the garden Suzette suggested that we add a layer of fresh basil to the lasagna, so we picked the tops off the two basil plants plus several of the large leaves that hang down.
When we returned to the kitchen, I sliced the larger of the two squashes from our garden into rounds. The center of the squash contained soft pulp and seeds, so I removed the central core of pulp, which left a 1 inch thick side wall of dense squash with a rather tough shiny mottled skin that I cut into thin
round slices about three inches in diameters diameter 1/16 inch thick. The long straight yellow squashes were much softer, so I used our Swiss cheese slicer to slice them into long thin 1 inch wide
1/16 inch thick slices. I then fetched the two cheeses and sliced about ¼ lb. of mushrooms as Suzette began to assemble the dish in alternating layers of squash, meat sauce, and cheese, with a layer each
of mushrooms, spinach, and basil.
Soon we slid the over full baking dish onto a baking sheet and into a pre-heated 375 degree oven and
baked it for about 45 minutes, tested the middle and put it back in to bake for an additional 15 minute for a total of one hour. There were several basil leaves left, so I sliced them into thin slices to garnish the dish.
I went to the basement and fetched a bottle of 2013 Aquino Chianti Riserva ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s)
and then watched Brooks and Shields, my favorite news commenters on PBS while Suzette finished the cooking and opening the wine.
At 7:00 we were ready to eat our new creation. It was a little runny at first but became firmer as it cooled. Suzette cut squares of the lasagna and then we used a spoon to capture some of the sauce created by the combining of the liquid juices released by the squash, the cheese, and the meat sauce.
The two types of squashes we used in this dish
This is the first time we have made this type of dish. Next time I might not add as much water to the spaghetti sauce, although we both loved the rich brothy sauce.
I ate three helpings and we drank the entire bottle of wine. Willy and Robin arrived around 8:00 and ate several helpings and I opened a bottle of 2024 Chianti Torrado produced by Piazzini ($7.99 at Total Wine) that I did not like as well as the smoother aged riserva. Riserva Chianti must be aged at least 38 months. Regular Chianti can be aged as little as 3 months. The Piazzini Chianti had a young tannic bite to it that Robin and Suzette actually liked. I preferred the smoother softer taste of the
Aquino Riserva. I guess aging tames and mellows the tannins.
I ate a bit of chocolate and drank a small shot of Ironworks grappa Suzette brought me from her trip to Canada last year with Melissa to settle my stomach.
Soon after Robin and Willy left around 9:20 Suzette went to bed and I talked to Mohan until 11:00 about the pending sale of the California land by our LLC to him.
Bon Appetit
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