Not Just Another Hotlanta Incident
Brian closed the door to the loft behind him and turned to hang up his coat. He
glanced toward the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. It was an immediate
case of déjà vu as he assessed the situation before him.
Pots and pans littered the counter of the kitchen. Bits of food were evident on
the marble countertop and also on the hardwood floor of the loft. And a certain
blond was standing by the stove stirring something in a big pot.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Brian demanded.
“Making you a vegetarian dinner,” Justin replied with a swipe to his sweaty
brow.
“Since when did I become a vegetarian?” Brian asked. “Or for that matter when
did you?”
“The purchase and consumption of meat by human carnivores is a huge drain on the
planet’s resources,” Justin informed his partner.
“Is that right?”
“Yes it is. And a vegetarian dinner once or twice a week won’t hurt either of
us.”
“It’s giving me a fucking headache already,” Brian retorted as he took another
look at the mess that his loft had become.
“Just give it a try; you might like it.”
“There is every possibility that I’ll hate it. And you better clean up this
fucking mess.”
“I will,” Justin replied, a smile curling the corners of his mouth. Brian’s
reaction told him that Brian wasn’t refusing to let him finish making the meal.
He might even agree to try it.
“When might this culinary masterpiece be ready?” Brian asked.
“Um, it’s taking me a little longer than I thought. I’m making my own tomato
sauce,” Justin said proudly.
Brian almost laughed out loud but he managed to clear his throat and cover up
what would have been the cause of a huge argument. “They do have tomato sauce in
jars and tins.”
“I know, but mine will be better.”
Brian looked at Justin about to say something rude, but then he changed his
mind. “I’m going to take a shower. Let me know when there might be the chance of
something edible.”
Brian walked towards the steps leading to the bedroom. Justin stuck his tongue
out at Brian’s back. Sometimes the man was so infuriating. Justin returned to
stirring his tomato sauce which was almost ready.
Consulting the recipe he had found on the internet, Justin emptied a can of corn
into a fry pan. It was supposed to be slightly charred. Justin wasn’t sure
exactly how that was supposed to happen but he placed the pan on a burner and
turned it on fairly low heat. While the corn was charring he assembled the other
things he needed for his lasagna. He had chopped red and green peppers and red
onion. These were already sautéed with some garlic. Justin knew he needed to get
the chickpeas ready and the different cheeses. He decided he would grate the
mozzarella and cheddar that he needed.
He rooted through the drawers in the kitchen until he found a handheld grater.
He wished he had one that stood upright. He was sure it would be easier to work
with. He began grating the cheddar cheese holding the grater over a bowl. It was
kind of slow going and his weak hand didn’t like it much.
He had just finished with the cheddar when Brian came down from the bedroom in
his jeans and no shirt. Justin let out an involuntary moan as he took a look at
the man who always made him weak in the knees.
“Is something burning?” Brian asked with a sniff.
“Shit! The corn! Can you check it?” Justin asked.
Brian came around the counter and lifted the fry pan off the burner. He shook it
and observed the contents. “It looks black on one side.”
“Good.”
“Good? Corn is supposed to be yellow, unless of course it’s white corn, but
black isn’t an option.”
“You’re supposed to char it for this recipe.”
Brian raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything about what he thought of
charring corn. He turned off the burner and set the pan of corn to the side.
“I’d say it’s definitely charred.”
“Good.”
Brian watched Justin trying to grate the mozzarella. He was definitely
struggling with his bad hand. “Here, let me do that while you finish your
preparations.”
“Thanks,” Justin said handing Brian the cheese and grater. Justin gave his hand
a shake and then massaged it before turning back to the stove. None of this
escaped Brian’s attention.
“What the fuck are you making anyway?” Brian asked as he started to grate the
sticky mozzarella. “This would be easier if you left it in the fridge until you
were ready to grate,” he felt compelled to add.
“I thought I should get everything assembled before I started, so I took it out
… quite a while ago,” Justin said as he glanced at the clock on the stove.
“You still haven’t told me what you’re making.”
“It’s a tortilla lasagna.”
“What?”
“I found this recipe that sounds really interesting.”
“Interesting and food don’t usually go together. It’s supposed to be tasty not
interesting.”
“It could be both.”
“Yes, it could,” Brian said skeptically.
“I have to mash these chickpeas,” Justin said as he opened a big can of
chickpeas and drained them then ran them under water to rinse them. “Do you have
a masher?”
“I am a masher.”
Justin laughed. It was good to have Brian around, Brian helping him, even if the
sarcasm kept coming. “I mean a potato masher.”
“I think there’s one somewhere, but I never eat potatoes.”
“There’s no potatoes in this. I just need it to mash the chickpeas.”
“And this is supposed to be good when it’s all done?” Brian asked obviously not
believing that the recipe would produce anything edible let alone good.
“It’s going to be delicious,” Justin informed him.
“Hm.”
“You’ll see,” Justin said as he found the masher and started to mush up the
chickpeas. “These are tough little buggers,” Justin said as they squirted out
from under the masher.
Brian finished grating the mozzarella and noted that the mashing wasn’t doing
anything for Justin’s hand either. “Let me do that,” Brian offered. “You can get
the rest of it ready to bake. You do put it in the oven, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then may I suggest that you turn the oven on.”
“Shit! I thought I had.”
Brian shook his head as he started to mash the obstreperous chickpeas. “I hope
these things digest better than they mash.”
“They will,” Justin promised. He set a spring-form pan on the counter.
“Where did that come from?”
“I bought it for this recipe.”
“This is going to be one expensive hunk of lasagna.”
“Not if you like it and I make it several times.”
“Do you think that’s likely?” Brian asked sarcastically.
Justin made a face but didn’t reply. He dropped a tortilla into the bottom of
the spring-form pan. “They fit almost perfectly,” he said in surprise.
“Imagine that.”
“I have to put the vegetables and spices and tomato sauce together and cook them
for ten minutes,” Justin said as he reviewed the recipe.
“Then get to it or we’ll be eating at midnight.”
“Yes, sir!” Justin said with a salute. “How are the chickpeas coming?”
“How mashed do they need to be?”
“Roughly, it says,” Justin stated after consulting the recipe once again.
“Then I’d say they’re ready.”
“Good, I’ll need to add them to this in a few minutes.”
“Want a beer?”
“Sure,” Justin said with a smile. Brian was hanging around and not going onto
his computer or ignoring what Justin was doing. Somehow that made Justin’s heart
feel very good.
Once the vegetable and tomato sauce mixture had heated through, Brian added the
chickpeas as Justin instructed. Brian stirred while Justin mixed up the cheeses.
“Ready to layer?” Justin asked.
“I suppose.”
“Vegetables first – one quarter of what we have.”
“How do what one quarter of this glop is?” Brian asked.
“It’s thick, so divide it in four.”
“Yes, master.” Brian took the spoon and cut the mixture into four somewhat equal
parts.
“Spread one section on the tortilla.”
Brian did as instructed. Justin then spread a thin layer of the cheese on top of
the vegetables and then dropped on another tortilla. They repeated the process
three times ending with a tortilla on top. That was covered with grated parmesan
that Justin had bought at the store.
“Are we done?” Brian asked.
“Yes we are and the oven just buzzed to say it’s ready. Twenty minutes, in you
go,” Justin explained as he shoved the spring-form pan in the oven.
“So we eat in twenty minutes?”
Justin shook his head. “It has to sit for ten minutes when it comes out of the
oven so it will stay together.”
“So, half an hour. Hm, I wonder how we can use that time.” Brian began nuzzling
Justin’s neck. His hand found its way to Justin’s crotch.
“I should clean up,” Justin whispered, although that was the last thing he
wanted to do.
“Later,” Brian responded as he yanked Justin’s pants down around his knees. He
bent his young partner over the counter.
“What are you doing?” Justin gasped as Brian kneaded his ass.
“Come now, young man, surely you can figure it out.”
“But dinner…”
“…will wait until we’re done.”
“Okay,” Justin gasped as Brian lubed up and started with his fingers. “Is this
my reward for cooking?” Justin gasped as the tip of Brian’s cock breached his
hole.
“It’s just the appetizer round. I’ll have dessert for you later,” Brian
promised.
“Aaah!” Justin cried out as Brian drove home.
“Hang on, the ride is going to be fast and hard.”
And it certainly was. One pot hit the floor of the loft as Justin tried to get
some purchase while Brian rammed into him. They finished to the satisfaction of
both just as the buzzer indicated that the lasagna should come out of the oven.
Justin pulled it out of the oven and set it on a rack.
“Cooking and fucking in the kitchen saves a lot of time,” Justin observed as he
pulled up his cargo pants.
“Rather messy however.”
“I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll start cleaning up.”
“Come on,” Brian said taking his hand.
They walked up to the bathroom and showered off. Changing into clean clothes
they cleaned up the worst of the mess in the loft before sitting down to taste
the tortilla lasagna along with the salad Justin had ready in the fridge.
Justin watched Brian chew the lasagna tentatively. “What do you think?”
“Not bad.”
Justin’s smile looked especially brilliant in the light of the candles he had
lit. “Maybe I could make it again. I really like it.”
“Yeah.”
Justin’s smile got even bigger. “So, vegetarian dinners … occasionally aren’t
such a bad idea?”
“You do have a way with food, young man.”
“And you were a big help in the kitchen.”
Brian smirked. He finished his piece of lasagna. “Are you ready for dessert?”
“Always.”
Here's the Rose Reisman recipe for anyone who would like it. It is very tasty.
Layered tortilla,
chickpea, tomato and cheese lasagna
This is one of the most beautiful and delicious recipes to serve. Use a variety
of colored tortillas to make it even more spectacular. When this dish is cut
open to expose the tomato sauce, vegetables and cheese it looks amazing. I often
prepare a couple of these to freeze, so I can bake them when I need them.
•1 cup canned corn, drained
•2 tsp vegetable oil
•1/2 cup chopped onion
•2 tsp finely chopped garlic
•1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
•1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 2 cups tomato sauce (can be store-bought
spaghetti sauce)
•1 1/2 tsp dried basil
•1 tsp chili powder
•1/2 tsp ground cumin
•2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
FILLING
• 1 cup light ricotta (5%)
• 1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded light cheddar cheese
• 3 Tbsp low-fat milk pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 large flour tortillas
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking
spray.
2. Lightly coat a nonstick saucepan with vegetable oil and set over medium heat.
Add the corn and sauté, stirring often, for about 8 minutes or until slightly
charred. Set aside.
3. Add the oil to the saucepan and keep over medium heat. Add the onion and
garlic and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the red and green
peppers. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato sauce,
charred corn, basil, chili powder and cumin. Cover and cook over medium heat,
stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from
the heat.
4. Place the chickpeas in a bowl and mash them roughly with a fork. Add to the
vegetable mixture and stir to combine.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses (but
reserve 1/4 cup of the cheddar for garnish). Add the milk and salt and pepper
and stir until well combined.
6. Place a tortilla in the prepared springform pan. Spread with one-quarter of
the vegetable-chickpea mixture. Sprinkle with one-quarter of the cheese mixture.
Repeat the layers 3 times. Top with the final tortilla and sprinkle with the
remaining cheddar cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cover the pan tightly with
foil.
7. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then uncovered for 10 minutes or
until it is completely heated through and the cheese has melted. Cut into 8
wedges with a sharp knife.
Nutritional Analysis per Serving
Calories 280
Protein 14 g
Fat 8.5 g
Saturated Fat 3.1 g
Carbohydrates 39 g
Cholesterol 22 mg
Sodium 710 mg
Fiber 5 g
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Make Ahead: Can be baked up to a day in advance. Reheat in 350°F oven for 10
minutes.
Serves 8
Nutrition Watch: Choose lower-fat cheddar cheese more often (1 oz of regular fat
cheddar cheese has 6 g of saturated fat; 1 oz of lighter cheese has less than 4
g of saturated fat.
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