Well, I started that marinara before anything else. Added onion and basil to it while sipping my first coffee. I need to add some garlic, but mostly it just needs to cook.
Start marinara cooking. 7:30 a.m.
A shower.
Prep a batch of stewed tomatoes, set aside to cool. Prep batches of herb mix, using up the basil.
Clean up.
About then, things should be opening, and off I go.
Post office:mail book to customer.
Chocolate shop: hopefully sell a tray of books. (opens at 9)
Antique store:drop/pull stock. (opens at 10)
Staples: shredding, pick up clam shell and 1’ square boxes, tape, and cards.
Market 1: for eggs, amongst other things.
Market 2: for ice cream, bread, and coffee.
Home! (Somewhere in here: run dishwasher when it gets full. Unpack dishwasher. Start reloading when making casserole, as needed.)
Put away groceries.
Start eggs boiling for casserole.
Print file for day job.
Prep potatoes, tomatoes, onion, etc. for casserole.
Put casserole in oven.
Edit printout. Write email.
Put now finished/cooled marinara and stewed tomatoes in freezer.
Make salad, etc. as needed for dinner.
Eat dinner.
Clean up.
And it got more insane and less productive. I left my wallet/phone at home, so had to return to the house. The 2nd thing I needed to do was buy gas, because I was on reserve about 2 miles from home. I got here, but the car “burped” on the hill home…
I’m waiting for DH’s zoom meeting to end, so I can ask him if the gas in the gas can can be used in my car? It did.
Italian Potato Cheese Casserole from The Vegetarian Epicure, book 2
2 lb potatoes, 6t butter, 1/2t salt and more to taste, 1.5 lb ripe tomatoes, pepper to taste, 1.5t basil/crushed, 2/3 lb mozzarella, 6 eggs/hard boiled, 2/3C parsley/chopped, 2/3C Parmesan/grated.
Boil potatoes til just tender, drain, peel, and cut into fairly thick slices. Melt butter, pour 2T into bottom of large shallow casserole. Arrange potato slices on bottom of pan in one layer and salt them. Slice tomatoes, arrange on top of potatoes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and the crushed basil. Slice mozzarella in strips. Arrange strips on top of the tomatoes. Peel/coarsely chop eggs. Combine in a bowl with remaining butter, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Mix throughly. Spread evenly over cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and bake in preheated 350 degree oven, 25-30 minutes.
I’ve been making this so long I have all sorts of notes all over the page. The recipe specifies russet potatoes, I use whatever I have. I don’t always peel them. I don’t use as much butter. I use a butter wrapper to grease the bottom of the casserole and then melt 4T butter to go with the eggs. I only used 4 eggs this time. I made multiple layers because I was using up small potatoes. I don’t always use the parsley.
ORDER TO SAVE MONEY/TIME: Boil the eggs first, then the potatoes. I use filtered water, which I normally wouldn’t for eggs, but would for the potatoes. I do the eggs first…
This is a fall standard here. It’s economical when tomatoes are in season. I also make a potato-tomato soup and I’m interested in possibly making both up at the same time and then freezing them.
If I freeze this, I won’t include the eggs.
