The Rake's Progress

[rejectomorph]

Half of the rain gutters are now cleared, though one of the downspouts looks to be clogged. I'll find out when the rain comes, if I remember to look out to see what it's doing. The back lawn is now also cleared of most of the leaves, though I left a few because I like the rustic look (or because I was too lazy to rake all of them.) One of the azalea bushes has put out two tiny blossoms— a surprise this late in the year, especially since it hasn't been unseasonably warm. If we don't get any more strong winds, the leaves ought to take a week or two to cover the lawn back up. The mulberry tree in the front yard is only beginning to drop leaves, and probably won't lose them all until the new year. That's about two and a half months of raking ahead, so I'm not going to get too celebratory about today's accomplishments.

I'm seriously considering making a batch of macaroni and cheese tonight. It's been at least a couple of months since I made any, and even the cooling weather hasn't yet given me the energy to do it, but despite all the raking today I actually feel a bit more energetic than I have for a while. Surprisingly, I didn't get my back or shoulder any more out of whack with all that activity. That means I'll probably do it in my sleep. But first, a look at the waxing moon, and then dinner.

Comments

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

Do you make mac'n'cheese with a stove-top cream sauce or by grating cheese into the dish of hot macaroni? I never did manage to make good mac'n'cheese from scratch.

[rejectomorph]

Both: I make the sauce in a pan (basic bechamel with cheese melted into it once it gets warm), pour it over the al dente macaroni in a Pyrex baking dish, top with grated cheese and bake until the cheese has just started to brown in a few places. Some people make a crumb crust instead of cheese on top, but I've never tried to do that.

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

My mom used to make it with the really old-style long bent tubes of macaroni. She'd brown it till it was a little blackened on top because my dad had a taste for charred cheese. Actually, I kind of inherited that!

As to bechamel sauce, when I used to make Bolognese lasagne, I'd make them with a bechamel sauce, but without the ricotta and/or mozzarella that Americans tend to use in it. Oh lord, it was good. I used to like to cook.

[rejectomorph]

As much as I love lasagna, I've never had the patience to make it. It's probably just as well, as my stomach grows more intolerant of cooked tomato the older I get. The last time I had pizza it took three days for the indigestion to go away.

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, me & tomatoes are problematic too anymore. You could try white lasagne, though -- no tomato at all, just cream sauce with different seasonings. Come to think of it, that sounds good!