Dennae, I'm the author of the "Annie's Salsa" recipe and I sometimes reheat my salsa and do not seem to have any problem with the liquid separating from my tomatoes. Possibly because I squeeze out some of the "goo" or drain the tomatoes before using them, or maybe it's due to the addition of the tomato paste, but I just don't seem to have that problem. I first made this recipe when I was still a single mother and working full time and didn't always have time to do everything in the evening after work, sometimes the canning process had to stretch over two days. It has always worked for me. If there is a concern for you, however, feel free to prepare everything and mix it up the night before, then give it the 10 minute cook time the next day before canning. I've found that I'm not really saving that much time by cooking the night before anyway, as I have to give it time to cool a little before refrigerating it anyway. It's just as fast to simply combine the prepared ingredients and cook/can the next day. Annie

There are some very dry, high quality, Italian dried lasagna noodles that I've tried that really require boiling. Or, I should say, you can put the pasta in dry, but it'll soak up all the moisture, giving you a dry lasagna unless you use a lot of very thin sauce. The best way I've found is to use fresh pasta, if possible, or the regular dry boxed like DeCecco, Barilla or Ronzoni. My experience with no bake pasta is that it's like those flat sponges that pop up when wet. It's no easier than regular boxed pasta and has a weird flavor and texture. THE TRICK: Before you lay out all your ingredients (but after they're prepared), fill a baking dish with hot tap water and soak the pasta until pliable. Don't pack them in so they don't stick together. It'll take about 10 minutes. You can do it in your lasagna pan, then lay the pasta out on a towel. You can use your fingers to kind of squeegee the pasta if the water clings. This sounds a lot more complicated than it is. It's just softening the noodles so you can wrap the sides, and so it won't wick away all the water, without all the mess and aggravation of boiling. Unless you leave them in the water way too long, they don't get waterlogged and make the lasagna wet, like boiled noodles can. I always bake immediately. Eggs in the ricotta (one per pound) are the secret to lightness and stability. They help keep the whole thing from going soupy and slide-y. It's probably overcaution, especially as my eggs are less likely to have salmonella as the ones from the big factory farms, but still... If I'm planning to reheat the whole lasagna, I'll only cook it until it's set, and at a lower temperature to keep down the browning. For reheating, I set it out to take the chill off (or thaw) and bake at the same time and temperature it's meant to cook at originally. You can test the middle with a small knife or fat skewer. Pull it out and feel if the metal got hot and if the residue is at a good temperature. I've never had the pasta go mushy in the freezer, but in a casserole style lasagna, it isn't al dente either. It can still be firm, but will be completely yielding. That happens during the first bake. The kind of lasagna that you make by stacking a single portion on a plate can be al dente. :) BUT, I don't make soupy lasagna. It doesn't leak all over the place when cut. Perhaps the pasta would get mushy if there were a ton of loose liquid in it. If that's case, unless you want to wrap the pan, don't bother wetting the pasta. You can use regular pasta dry out of the package, and let it soak up the excess liquid. Good luck! Lasagna generally freezes beautifully.

Here's how I make my asparagus citrus salad-- I used two different recipes but can only find the recipe for the citrus vinaigrette. The key is it is very easy-- and unlike a lot of other salads, I even like this a day later. Citrus Vinaigrette: whisk together the following-- OR I combine in salad dressing jar and shake ¼ cup champagne vinegar ¾ cup olive oil (sometimes I swap in 1/4 c walnut oil) 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoon fresh orange juice 1 tsp honey (or to taste) 1 clove garlic, minced ¾ teaspoon chives (or thyme or oregano.. loved all herbs I've tried!), minced ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper Citrus Asparagus Salad Sorry, no amounts here but I’ll say that I am very generous with the asparagus and orange. Enough that every large bite could have both. It is very important that the red onion is cut very thin otherwise it can overpower all else. toss together: spring mix and butter lettuce very thinly sliced red onion (I use a light hand on this-- and keeping them very thin is key) blanched asparagus cut into 1" pieces on the diagonal (should still have some crunchy bite) navel orange segments (I use the really big navels so the segments are a nice size) rough cut walnts salt and pepper (and sometimes I add freeze dried basil.. I think fresh would be too strong) Drizzle with Citrus Vinaigrette and toss again -- this doesn't need a ton of dressing! Top with shaved parmesan (I've used shredded in a pinch) OPTIONAL I like to let the salad sit, dressed for 30 min or so before I add the parmesan. It allows the flavors to blend. Variations/Add ins:: cucumbers, spring peas, avocado, spicy grilled shrimp, chicken, prosciutto, cashews Note: In general, I tend not to be too uptight BUT with this and many other salads, I am a bit of a freak about arranging all the pieces before serving to make sure there are plenty of pieces of asparagus and orange showing and a few pieces of red onion on top. I add the parmesan shaves as the very last step before serving.

I too have never had much luck with this cutting in advance . If I were you , I would have someone cut the newly opened scapes the day of the wedding . It will be much nicer than hoping to have blooms from previously cut scapes with a good chance that no blooms open on the scapes the day of the wedding . Note: I just edited this post as upon rereading I was thinking that perhaps you would not understand what I was trying to say . The words got in the way . .