Tales from the Postage Stamp

What exactly is the "Postage Stamp"? Well, it all started one day while I was hanging out with Christine and my best friend/web goddess Patrice. We were talking about my kitchen, when Patrice said the most accurate thing about my kitchen.

"Reina, you don't have a kitchen," she said. "You have a postage stamp."

It is sad but true -- my kitchen is a tiny galley. There is very little counter space and not enough room to store two sets of pots, pans and dishes. The sink is rather shallow, only allowing a certain amount of dishes in it. It doesn't take much for the kitchen to go from clean to a complete and total disaster -- partially due to the space.

Mind you, wonderful things have come out of this kitchen. I really learned how to cook in the Postage Stamp, and have been able to cultivate my food style. But the fact of the matter is that it's not a space that can be shared. There were only very few times where another person could come into the kitchen.

And the truth is, even if people could come in, would I want them to? It's so small that it's difficult to get people into the kitchen to help. But it doesn't matter, because every time people come over it turns into an instant disaster, so I don't want people in there anyway.

I will admit that our kitchen and dining area is far from complete. I currently have a wicker table that was inherited from my father's mother -- which, ironically, considering her exquisite taste in clothes, never quite extended to her furniture. The chairs are also wicker, with the cushions falling off. We don't have a lot of chairs for company -- one point, I hosted a Shabbat dinner, and my friend Cindy had to sit on the yoga ball. We kind of have a ghetto way of hosting gatherings at Chez Kutner. But let's face it: every time I want to purchase something new for the kitchen, all I can think of are the crowded cabinets.

But then, I have to remember something important. I think of my grandmother's tiny kitchen in their apartment in Beverly Hills. Although it was bigger than ours, there was very little counter space. Yet, somehow, there was magic out of that kitchen. As much as I dream of a beautiful kitchen one day, with granite countertops and plenty of space to store food, dishes and everything, I realize that my grandmother never had it. It never affects what you produce from the kitchen. Each dish can be made with love even if you don't have a gorgeous way of presenting things. And even if you have a beautiful kitchen, it doesn't mean you're going to make great food.

Ari and I really don't have much. But I pray that there will come a day where we will have a beautiful dining room table where we can sit people down to host a beautiful dinner, serving food on gorgeous platters and laughing. But in the meantime, I cherish what I can get out of my kitchen -- such as this lasagna florentine, which we served on New Year's Eve. Everyone's been bugging me for the recipe, so here it is.

LASAGNA FLORENTINE

5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk and/or cream
3 packages frozen spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon nutmeg, plus more for beschamel
2 tablespoons garlic powder, more optional for beschamel
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
No-boil lasagna noodles (see quick tip 3)
2 cups mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Once melted, add flour until it reaches a slightly thick liquid. Whisk to remove all lumps from flour. Once it reaches a light golden brown, add cream and/or milk. (see quick tip 1) Whisk for about five to ten more minutes, until the sauce becomes thick. Add salt and nutmeg to taste. A little garlic powder is optional. This is a beschamel sauce. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Microwave spinach until thawed. Drain and queeze out all the water. In a mixing bowl, add ricotta cheese, nutmeg and garlic powder, along with salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium-sized baking dish (slightly smaller than 13 by 9), pour some of the cream sauce on the bottom, and layer lasagna noodles so they cover the bottom of the dish. Layer spinach mixture on top, followed by more beschamel sauce and parmesan cheese. Repeat with another layer. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Cover loosely with foil, and place in oven for half an hour. Uncover, and cook for 10 to 15 more minutes, until the cheese on top gets bubbly and golden brown. Serve immediately.

QUICK TIP 1: A beschamel sauce is a standard cooking sauce and comes in handy for other dishes. This is a good cream sauce base for pasta and vegetables.

QUICK TIP 2: If you like other vegetables in here, feel free to add them to the spinach mix. Sauteed mushrooms and/or onions would go really well and provide some body to the lasagna.

QUICK TIP 3: You can use lasagna noodles that you boil first, but I don't recommend it, as it would just create more work for you.