So I find a lasagne recipe. I try it. I like it. I really like it.  I feel brave. I ask my Italian mamma neighbor to try it. (Note: I said I felt brave) SHE like it. WOO HOO!!  So, you say? If you have spent some time in an Italian kitchen you may be familiar with the regard for the cooking skills of the typical American.  To get a “molto buono” from a sincere face does more than warm the cockles of your heart–it’s like finding the lost city of Atlantis.

Lasagne in Tuscany is not the same as most American style lasagne.  The layers of cheese that are so typical of the American version are replaced with layers of bechamel sauce and sprinklings of parmesan cheese.  There is also a higher ratio of pasta per layer of lasagna.  I found this recipe in another little corner of another little site here. www.tuscany.net/recipes/lasagne. I did some slight modifications and interpretations, boiled lean=ground beef which I added to and left out the chicken hearts. I also added a little cheese to melt on top the last 15 minutes of cooking.

One thing I did not think about before because of having a science background and being familiar with all things metric is that others may find fabulous recipes on many of these small sites and think that they sound amazing and want to try them. But.  They are all in the metric system and your measuring devices are not.  So a little chart to make it easier.

28.5 grams=1 ounce

100 grams=a bit less than 1/4 lb (0.22)

125grams=a bit more than 1/4 lb (0.27)

1 liter=a very little more than 1 quart

100 ml=a little less than 1/2 cup (0.42)

If you are good with decimals than link to this site www.convert-me.com, the only drawback is it only converts in decimals so remember that 0.33 is 1/3 cup and 0.67 is 2/3 cup and keep the pc away from the fluids in the kitchen, bechamel sauce is murder to get out from between the keys.