I'm invited into this mild August morning with a blast of smog created by hundreds of fires burning the forests of Idaho.

Concerned for my lungs, I cancel the round of golf scheduled for this morning, turn off the alarm, let the dogs free to play in the yard and contemplate my day.

Deciding the dogs should stay in the house for the safety of their lungs, I focus on tasks I can complete in my home that require little outside exposure. Clean the furnace; nope, paint the home theater; boring, play with the puppies; definitely. What else might I do? Cook!

The garden usually offers its harvest late August through mid-September. This year I've been picking fruits and vegetables since late June. I decide to complete the work usually done in late September and recondition the spent garden beds into compost, straw and topsoil. I harvest 20 pounds of tomatoes, three pounds of jalapenos, green beans, zucchini, and the last of the lettuce, herbs and blackberries. All that remains in the garden are watermelon, pumpkins, carrots and Fuji apples.

I harvest the bounty as quickly as I can as water pours from my eyes and my voice turns raspy from the smoke. Safely inside my home, the work begins. Contributing to the pollution, I decide to smoke the peppers and create chipotle peppers in adobo sauce while my wife creates four large zucchini and spinach lasagnas to feed our family this winter.

Smoked jalapenos in adobo sauce

Ingredients

30 smoked jalapeno peppers. Use ancho or sweet/hot peppers to tame the heat if you wish.

I cut mine in half length-wise and smoke them with mesquite wood at 200 degrees for two hours, rotating the grates to ensure all receive the same smoke.

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 medium fresh jalapeno peppers

6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

2 teaspoons Mexican oregano

3 large ripe tomatoes, skinned

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 cups vegetarian broth

3 tablespoons sugar

Salt to taste

Method

Add all ingredients to a saute pan except 24 of the 30 smoked jalapenos. Cooked covered for 30-minutes on medium heat. Uncover and cook an additional 20 minutes. Let cool then blend ingredients until smooth. Return the blended sauce to the saute pan, add remaining 24 peppers and bring back up to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes until peppers are soft and malleable.

I package the peppers into two-ounce portions in freezer bags to use in sauces, on chicken, mole' sauce, for pork carnitas and to add a little smoky-hot spice to rice, beans and marinades.

Zucchini and Spinach Lasagna

Simple red sauce

Saute two tablespoons minced garlic and 1/4 cup diced onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add dried Italian herbs, or wait until the end and add fresh Italian herbs. Caramelize onion, garlic and bloom herbs. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of red wine and let reduce by half. Add three cans of good quality tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer. Add one cup shredded parmesan cheese and melt. Add black pepper and salt to taste. Simmer for 1/2 hour.

Saluted zucchini - Saute in olive oil until vegetable is slightly soft - do not overcook

Fresh Spinach

Lasagna pasta - add hard pasta for al dente noodles or cook the pasta slightly for a less al dente dish.

Ricotta cheese - Do not replace the ricotta with cottage cheese - that would make the dish simply disgusting and definitely do not add boiled eggs - yuck!

Sauteed mushrooms - if desired.

Sliced fresh mozzarella

Parmesan cheese

Method

Start with ladling the red sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Add a layer of pasta followed by Zucchini, spinach, mushroom, ricotta, red sauce then repeat. Once you create a three-layer dish, cover with foil and place in a 375-degree oven until the pasta reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Uncover, top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and cook until top is golden and melted. Remove from the oven, let sit for 10 minutes then serve.

Send comments or other suggestions to William Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com or visit pensiveparenting.com.