Well, they are soft, but roasted peppers get soft anyway. I do find freezing offers the best consistency and flavor for preserved peppers. Canning is definitely harder on them. Carol

My grandparents' house never changed. Oh, once there was a new slipcover on a chair, or some new towels in the kitchen, but that was about it. According to my father, the big changes since he was a kid were 1) a refrigerator to replace the ice box and 2) the advent of a television to replace the big radio. After my grandparents died, an uncle and his family moved in and they changed everything--new paint, wallpaper, new floor in the kitchen. Then Uncle and Aunt moved to assisted living and the house was sold. Last year, my brother was back in town and we drove out to the house so he could take a picture of it. The new owners saw us and asked what we were doing. We explained who we were and they very kindly offered to let us take a final look around the house. Interestingly, they've brought the house back to very, very close to the way it was when we were kids. The fussy wallpaper is gone and calm, neutral colors are back on the walls. They have a dining room set eerily like my grandparents. The furniture in the living is arranged pretty much the same way. There's even a chest in the upstairs hall where my grandmother had one. And it wasn't just me, my brother was exclaiming over the same things. And it's not as if the house was new when my GPs' bought it--the house was built around 1875 and my GPs' bought it in 1930. But the new owners have a lot of furniture from about the same era. We were able to tell the new owners a lot about the house and how it looked, explained why the kitchen is much newer than the rest of the house (lightening caused a fire in 1938 and the kitchen had be redone), the colors of the walls, the reason for the odd ceiling light in the basement (used to hang over a pool table). They were very kind and I had a great walk down memory lane.

Depending on where you live in the Midwest, you may not find Michael Angelo's, I've never even heard of it. I've never purchased or eaten frozen lasagna but my son in law likes the Stouffer's. He heats them up in the microwave for a lunch when he's at work or when he's working in the evening. He always has two, one is never enough, but he's a mechanic with his own garage, so his hours are sometimes long and the work is physically demanding. Also, the Midwest is full of something called Gordon Food Service, they're a warehouse type thing that you don't need to be a member to shop at. They provide food to schools, restaurants, etc. Elery says he's gotten lasagna there and it's "OK". You do have to buy large pans of it, though. Annie

I roast broccoli all the time, cut up in pieces coat with some olive oil, sprinkle with dry crushed red pepper and add some roasted garlic pieces (a lot for me) or just sprinkle with garlic powder, roast at 375 until it just starts to brown, it is delicious, sometimes I do a mix of broccoli and cauliflower. I don't usually roast asparagus but I throw it on the grill a lot. I just trim, brush with some olive oil and grill until very tender, sprinkle with sea salt and it's ready to enjoy.