Veggie Lasagna

Not vegan but for the dairy consuming vegetarian, go to town!  :)  This is a great dish to give someone, unbaked, because they can pop it in the freezer and then thaw it out and bake it at their own leisure.






Ingredients:
Oven baked vegetables (see previous recipe)
5 cups favorite pasta sauce
1 cup water
15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for later use
salt and pepper
dried basil and/or oregano
1 box no boil lasagna (DeBoles gluten free is good)
8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix sauce and water together in a bowl.
Mix eggs, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup Parmesan in a separate bowl.
Have cooked veggies ready.

For using a 9x13 baking dish/pan:
Pour 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of pan.
Line pan with lasagna noodles
Put 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top and spread along noodles (NOTE!! NOT 1/3 CUP BUT 1/3 OF THE ENTIRE PORTION.  SAME BELOW)
Put 1/3 of the veggies on top
Cover with 1/3 of the sauce
Cover sauce with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese
Add a few shakes of Parmesan and a few shakes of dried basil and/or oregano.
Repeat layers twice.
Bake, covered, at 350, for 45 minutes and then uncover and bake until middle is hot and cheese is bubbling.
If you have refrigerated or frozen and then thawed the lasagna, it may take a bit longer.
Once it is ready to take out of the oven, give yourself enough time to let it set for 10 minutes and settle before serving.
If you want to freeze or refrigerate to serve later, don't bake it first! 

I have found this is a recipe that benefits from having time to experiment with pan sizes.

If  you find your pan is too shallow, it will be just as good with 2 layers instead of three.  I've read that some people look for pans that are 13x9 but deeper than the standard 2 inches.

For those who have the time and patience and don't want a huge, 13x9 pan of lasagna,  I recently began buying disposable aluminum poultry pans, with dimensions of  9 3/8 x 9 3/8 x 2 3/8 and dividing everything above into two pans.  The middle layers of cheese and sauce and veggies may need to be reduced a bit to give you enough ingredients to make two smaller lasagnas or you can anticipate that ahead of time and buy extra of everything.

In the end, lasagna is something that ends up all mushed up on people's plates so I find the aesthetics are secondary, so long as it's yummy!  :)

**For the carnivores: You can replace the veggie layers with cooked Italian sausage.
**Leave out the veggies and its a great cheese lasagna

Oven cooked veggies

When I make these, I cook them in a baking dish, which results in a moister texture.  If you are looking for a drier consistency, then I suggest spreading them on a cookie sheet before baking.


In a large bowl. combine the following vegetables in a large Tupperware bowl with a lid (all veggies cut into large chunks) :

1 1/2 cups onion
1 1/2 cups peppers NOT GREEN - but that's just me :)
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
1 1/2 cups zucchini
1 1/2 cups yellow squash

Combine all veggies in a Tupperware bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 Tbsp. fresh, chopped rosemary.

Put lid on bowl and shake until well coated.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste 1 piece and determine if it is the desired consistency.  If not, continue to bake, checking every 7 minutes until satisfied with consistency.
Makes roughly 4 cups veggies.

Optional: Include 1 1/2 cups eggplant.

Oatmeal - Redux Part 3

Yes, yes the oatmeal continues to evolve.  It was pointed out to me a few months ago, that a banana is sweet enough to really hold its own as the only fruit in this.  I also substituted the almond milk with soy milk, to increase the fat content slightly.  Simpler, in my opinion, usually equals better!



1/3 cup quick, 1 minute oats
2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 banana (the riper the better)
Dash of cinnamon

Mash the banana and combine with other ingredients in a deep bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute, stir.  Microwave for another 30 seconds.  Stir again and serve.
Times on the 2nd microwave go-round may vary, depending on your microwave.

Sugar Free Vegan Banana Milk Shake

Simple and delicious!!
The ingredients are:
8 oz. unsweetened soy milk
1 banana, the riper the better

There are two different ways to prepare.

For a frothier shake, combine the soy milk and banana in a blender, along with 4-6 ice cubes until combined.

For a thicker shake, freeze the banana for an hour or more and combine in blender with soy milk but don't add ice cubes.

Either way, really great and no added sugar of any kind.

Israeli Salad with Pickles and Mint

I first had this in a Mediterranean restaurant in NY City and fell in love with it.  This is the first thing in my life that has made me want to buy/cook with/consume pickles!   Another recipe that may take some experimenting to find what your taste preferences are, as far as how much of each flavor you want to come through.  I found, with the measurements below, the flavors blended nicely.

• 1 lbs. Persian or English cucumbers, (the ones I bought didn't say Persian or English, they were just the mini cucumbers with fairly soft peels, so I didn't peel) diced
• 1 lbs. ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 large dill pickle spears, diced  (maybe 3/4-1 cup after diced)
• 15 fresh mint leaves, chopped 
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Combine cucumbers, tomatoes, dill pickles and mint in a bowl.  Add olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  Toss to coat.  

Taste the salad.  Add additional salt and/or lemon juice to taste if deired.  Toss again before serving.

Can be served on a bed of spring greens.  Goes well with hummus also. 

Smooth and Easy Hummus

I am having a blast learning to cook Mediterranean dishes.  So many great vegan options to explore!  This is a great recipe that even my carnivores enjoy!  The key is patience.  It doesn't take an enormous amount of time, but everything is processed for a longer period of time after each addition.  I serve it with veggies, since I don't eat bread or pitas and doubling this recipe it is the easiest thing in the world!

One 15-ounce can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1/4 cup tahini
Half a large garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for serving if desired
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp. kosher salt, depending on taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2-3 Tbsp. water
Dash of ground paprika for serving (optional)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice.  Process for 1 minute.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process 30-60 more seconds.  This extra time helps "whip" or "cream" the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice mixture.  Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.

Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water.  Add half of the chickpeas to the processor and process for 1 minute.   Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process 1-2 minutes until thick and quite smooth.

This is where tasting the hummus and making a determination of your own preferences comes into play.  If you feel the hummus could be smoother, add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, processing after each addition, until you get to the consistency you wish.  You may also add a little more salt if you feel it needs it.

It can be served warm or chilled.  It can be served with pita bread or fresh vegetables.  It can be served with 1 Tbsp. olive oil drizzled on top and some paprika sprinkled on that, or served without.  Hummus is the ultimate in versatile food!

Recipe adapted from www.inspiredtaste.net

Roasted Garlic

Love, love, love this!  Use it in different dishes or occasionally just pop one in my mouth! :)

1 or more heads of garlic
Olive oil
Knife
Aluminum foil

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Peel (most of) the paper off garlic.  Use your fingers to feel away all the loose, papery, outer layers around the head of garlic.  Leave the head itself intact with all the cloves connected.
3) Trim about 1/4 inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the tops of the garlic clove.  (The hard, round section is the bottom of the garlic head)
4) Drizzle 1 to 2 tsp. olive oil over the exposed surface of the garlic, letting the oil sink down in the cloves.
5) Wrap each garlic head in its own aluminum foil.  I make sure it's closed but not very tight around the garlic.
6) Roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
7) After 40 minutes, begin checking the garlic.  You can pierce the center clove and feel if it's soft, although typically if the garlic appears light-medium brown and roasted, it's done.  If you continue to roast, check every 10 minutes after.
8) Let the garlic cool slightly.  Press on the bottom of the clove to push it out of the paper or, if it's cool enough, peel the paper off.
If part of any clove is hard and too roasted, I remove that with a knife.  The roasted garlic can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.  If you cover the roasted garlic with olive oil before refrigerating then you get olive oil with a nice garlic flavor and use that in cooking as well.

I adapted the directions from www.thekitchn.com for this post, just to save time, but what they have lines up exactly with how I roast garlic.

Brown Rice Update

An update to the Beans and Rice recipe, I recently came upon Trader Joe’s Rice Blend.  It has high fiber content and with barley and Daikon Radish seeds, is much healthier than your standard, instant brown rice.  I fix the rice blend according to the package directions and then when it’s done, I add about 1 3/4-2 cups to the bean and chorizo mixture that’s already cooking.  Tastes even better!