solitary evening

Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

– from "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (1621 – 1678)

I've always loved that poem, and it seems so appropriate tonight. I resolve to burst through my life in 2009 and not sit back as an observer. Sign me up to participate.

I spent my New Year's Eve by myself, hanging out in my little house with the furry creatures and the Project Runway marathon. It's the first time in decades, or maybe ever, that I've spent this night alone. And I don't feel particularly bad about that. It was an introspective evening of plans and goals and lessons learned, and I got to enjoy it in my pajamas in my favorite place in the world: my home.

I made myself spinach lasagna (recipe is at the end of this post) and garlic bread (the buttery store-bought kind in the foil that has like 800 calories per bite) and sipped on Sam Adams lager all evening.

At midnight, I watched the ball drop in Times Square on television (trivia: Dick Clark and I share the same birthday). Here's the ball at exactly midnight:



Then I put on my coat and boots and rushed outside to meet 2009. I lit a candle in my yard and watched it twinkle in the snow.



It was cold. I came in, warmed up, and ate brie on crackers and Mediterranean olives.



I love the fresh start of a new year; it's like we all get a second chance. Even me.

Lisa's Spinach Lasagna
(this recipe will serve one extremely hungry person, two average people, or three people with tiny stomachs. I usually eat half of it one day and the rest of it the next.)

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese (with some extra to sprinkle over the top)
1 cup thawed, very well-drained, frozen chopped spinach
1/2 teaspoon fresh or dry basil
pinch of red pepper
fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped, to taste (I use about a teaspoon)
salt, to taste
3-4 lasanga noodles

Mix all ingredients except noodles. Boil noodles, 2 at a time, until flexible but not mushy. Place a noodle in the bottom of a bread loaf pan (I use those disposable aluminum ones), then a layer of the cheese mixture. Alternate layers and finish with a final lasagna noodle. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese across the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, removing foil during the last 10 minutes of baking. Let it sit a few minutes before cutting.

I don't use sauce in this recipe, but feel free to use spaghetti sauce between the layers of lasagna noodles, if you'd like. It's great served with garlic bread and a salad.