LASAGNA IS NOT THAT HARD

Neither is life. Expect that it is. La vita è bella, y'all.

I want to talk about Anxiety.

It’s real.  It’s a beast.  Sometimes it lies dormant for weeks, months.  Then late at night, when someone walks over your grave… BOOM.  Sheer panic and we’re not even at the Disco.

Welcome to team no sleep.

A few months ago I watched an interview with Emma Stone discussing her Anxiety, which she labeled as her “superpower.”  How refreshing after traditional societal responses of doom and gloom surrounding such disorders such as coddling, pity, this wild notion that there is a “normal,” - are we to hear that the Titian-haired triple threat considers it one of her favorite things about herself. 

And that made me smile.  Since the age 9, I’ve been a proud card carrying member of the ADHD club.  It’s my superpower.  I can think 8 different things at the same time and see one fact 8 different ways.  Flit and float between 12 actions at a time.  Comparison is meaningless… watch us pirouette away while you follow a blueprint and crumble when you’ve gone just a little bit outside the lines. 

Meanwhile, we’re off picking daisies in the outfield.  

Yes, that leads to forgetfulness. We tend to bite off more than we can chew.  Sometimes, the noise of our chaos tornado is no longer a delightful jazz syncopated rhythm. It’s too much, it’s too loud. Escape inward.  Breathe and collect.  I call it Cave Trolling. 

But back to Anxiety. 

The other night I awoke at the darkest hour.  Nestled in a gorgeous apartment with dear friends visiting from a Kingdom across the sea (albeit a very very small sea, more like a channel really)… And boom- 1.5 hours of sleep, and a rocket launch into productivity. Although I was surrounded by laughter, love, memories, security of friendship, I couldn’t help but panic.  

I’ll admit, I indulged in about 47 minutes of self pity and inward screaming. But then I dusted off, brewed coffee, and chose to view it like Emma Stone.  This is a superpower.  It’s going to get me out of bed.  It’s going to make me do things, be productive. Cross items of my ever growing Expat-Things-To-Do WAIT why didn’t you know these 4 obscure French laws that nobody mentioned but now they time has come WHY HAVEN’T YOU DONE IT!?  OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!

But literally, they do have a history of choosing that option when annoyed. 

Once awoken from their riviera slumbers, they commiserated.  We all have it.  Whether you live a life with a blueprint handed down to you or you’ve chosen to march off into a field, got lost picking flowers, met a troll or two, and are just trying to do your best. Married with children, a perfect Instagram life, 300,000 followers on TikTok, more money than God, or cruising around India trying to find yourself.  It’s there, best not to hide in the shadows.

That’s what we’re all trying to do, really. One foot in front of the other.  One thing accomplished at a time.  Celebrate the wins, stop obsessing over the next lily pad.  Enjoy the view from this one.   

Much like our dish this month, life has layers. Some are spicy, some provide the acidic burn that we both long for a loathe at the same time. Some areas are sturdy, secure, while others act as the cream, those moments to cherish and cling on to. The glue, if you will.

Gah, now I’m waxing poetic about lasagna. You know what, let’s just take a deep collective breath, and get yourself some heart friends. 

ASF xx

What I’ve been cooking

Recipes exclusive to paid subscribers :) …

Classic Lady Lasagna

But really everyone can eat it. It’s just the classic, be all that you can be, eat cold out of the pan after a wild night out, cook with loved ones and give everyone a task type meal. Cook it for your Mama this Mother’s Day, even!

---

Subscribe to ASF to read the rest.

Become a paying subscriber to get access to this post, recipes, and other subscriber-only content.

A subscription gets you:

+ Subscriber-only posts, recipes, and full archive

+ Post comments and join the community

Repeat after me…

LASAGNA IS NOT DIFFICULT.

LASAGNA SHOULD NOT BE SOGGY.

BUT YOU SHOULD PROBABLY ONLY HAVE IT ONCE A WEEK, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THE ITALIANS DO.

And at the end of the day I subscribe to the Fellini school of thought. Be Italian. I love Nine, I really do. I love 8 1/2 more, but it doesn’t have the catchy tunes.

Have you ever seen a sad Italian? Well, I’m sure you have but at least not for very long. After a recent pop over the boarder, I was instantly reminded of the warmth, comfort, joy, and and light the descendants of the Roman Gods bring.

So let’s celebrate friendship and comfort, eh? And we’re NOT going to boil the lasagna sheets, because not only do they not need it, it causes extra steps and generates a nasty result.

Some make their lasagnas with Ricotta, fresh Mozzarella, or layer in whatever kind of cheese they have lying about. But for moi, I prefer the classics to impart flavor and act as a sturdy foundation for the layers. And who doesn’t love practicing one of the five French Mother Sauces, especially in honor of Mother’s Day.