“What are you doing at two in the morning?!” she asked
in her I’m-not-really-yelling-but-I-am-in-my-head voice.
“Um. . . .” I stammered. “Uh. . . .” I knew she’d never
believe me if I told her the truth, so I decided to use my
previously successful tactic of offering her an excuse before
I offered an explanation. “I couldn’t sleep!” That should
satisfy her curiosity.
“Yes, but what are you doing, and why are you making
so much noise, and why does it smell like béchamel and
creamed spinach in here?”
“Well . . ., I couldn’t sleep so I decided to make a
lasagna.”
She stared at me blankly for a moment, then turned
around and shuffled back to the bedroom, muttering, “What
did I marry?” under her breath.
IF SHE had given me a longer chance to explain, I
would have been able to foist the blame squarely on the
shoulders of Serious Eats community member
KarmaFreeCooking. She’d started up a “Talk” thread titled
“Vegetarian Lasagna Throwdown—Ideas to Win over Any
Meat Eater,” explaining that she’d been issued the challenge
of bringing a vegetarian lasagna good enough to compete
with a meaty one to a lasagna party.
I was not invited to this party, nor was I officially
challenged, but, challenge accepted.
The Layers
I started with a base of lightly creamed spinach. I considered
going the easy route with frozen leaves, but figured that if