Lasagna

All this talk about comfort food from last month’s book of the month (stay tuned for this month’s, coming up shortly), has started me thinking about what comfort food means to me. It’s actually always kind of been an obsession of mine… finding out what other people’s comfort foods are. It has a lot to do with what we were raised with, and it’s usually served hot. Comfort food also usually not good for you, but whatever… it’s good for the soul.

I always thought my comfort food was spaghetti and meatballs… and on some days, it is. But I think that skirts the definition of comfort food, which, to me, is something that makes you feel better no matter where, no matter when. And for me, that’s lasagna.

To break in a new house, I always make a huge pot of tomato sauce. The thing is, when I live alone, I don’t end up eating as much pasta as I thought I would, so my vat of tomato sauce excursion is almost always immediately followed by a lasagna-making extravaganza. After years of doing this, lasagna has slowly become my comfort food… easily grabbed, reheated, and served with extra tomato sauce and parmesan cheese on top. Preferably eaten out of a bowl… I have a thing about bowls. I find them far superior to plates. Come to think of it, I like spoons better than forks… only the little ones though. But I digress… (and make very frequent use of the ellipses…)

For the past two years, all of my friends were vegetarians, so I made lasagna with a layer of spinach instead of meat. In Paris, however, meat is definitely fair game, and so I’ve started making traditional meat lasagna… the way my mom makes it. And it’s even better with fresh basil from my basil plant scattered over the top.