I'm going to be eating lasagna for quite a while, so in the meantime, if you're interested in such things, Almost Vegetarian is having a contest where you can win some natural face, body and hair care products. She's posting about a different product every day for two weeks. I'm not sure exactly what the contest will entail, but I'm hopeful I'll win. I mean, I'm due up, I say. I might be one of five bloggers who's never won a Dyson.
Speaking of, this post (and its comments) over at Music City Bloggers has got me contemplating the vacuum cleaner issue. I have appealed to the Great Ivy of Shaks and Home-Ec 101 for some help. We'll see what she comes up with. My issues are that I have long hair and I have a cat with short hair. I don't have dry allergies, so I'm not as concerned about the HEPA stuff, but I have an old Kenmore canister vac that just can't handle the long hair. It gets caught in the roller and takes forever to clean. I need a long-hair resistant vacuum with a lot of power than can go from carpet to floor. Because I shed all over the place. Probably more than the cat.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Really Easy Garden Lasagna
When I was a kid, my mother discovered that I'd eat just about anything as long as it had spaghetti sauce on it. She didn't always indulge me, but we were both thankful when broccoli was served on the same night as chicken cacciatore or chicken parmigiana (after my stepfather's first heart attack, it was "chicken something" just about every night). Not much has changed since then except that I no longer eat chicken. I still don't love a whole lot of vegetables that are really good for you, which is why garden lasagna is such an easy way to make things such as broccoli and carrots go down a little easier.
Before I start in on this recipe, let me tell you that it is a heavily modified lasagna recipe. As in (obviously) there's no meat sause and also no ricotta or parmesan/Parmigiano Reggiano. Ricotta is a vegetarian cheese, but it's a colossal pain in the ass and I didn't really think it added all that much, so I started leaving it out a few years ago. So here we go. Note: The recipe is meant to be "easy" but I've put some alternatives in parentheses that may make it a little more labor intensive. The easiest part is you let the sauce and water from the vegetables cook the noodles instead of cooking them ahead of time (so this lasagna takes a little longer to cook in the oven).
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped summer (yellow) squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 or 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot (to taste)
1 medium jar or can of mushrooms pieces and stems, drained (or fresh sliced mushrooms if you prefer)
1 cup thawed and drained frozen chopped broccoli (or fresh, finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
9 lasagna noodles (I use a whole grain noodle)
1 26 ounce-ish jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Newman's Own Organic Herb Marinara)
1 15 ounce can or 2 8 ounce cans of plain tomato sauce (I use the 15 ounce can of Contadina Roma Tomato Sauce or the Dole Organic Tomato Sauce)
Chopped garlic (I use the stuff in a jar, because I'm lazy like that)
Dried herbs (whatever you like--my favorite herb is rosemary, so I add it to my sauce).
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sauces into a medium bowl and add the chopped garlic and herbs (to taste) and mix well. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 pan (I use a glass baking dish) and then spread 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom. Place three noodles on top of the sauce, evenly spaced (they'll expand during cooking). Then spread the chopped broccoli, mushrooms and carrot over the noodles and top with half the cheese. Pour 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the cheese and then place three more noodles on top of the sauce. Sprinkle on the squash and zucchini and the rest of the cheese and cover with 1 cup of sauce. Place three more noodles on top and cover with the remaining sauce (cover it completely to avoid crunchy noodles). Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and (optional) sprinkle some additional cheese on top. Bake (not optional) another 15 minutes.
Notes: You can choose any combination of vegetables you like but note that some vegetables have a higher water content than others. The squash and zucchini in this recipe means that you have to let it set for a while after baking so that the water is absorbed. I usually just turn off the oven and let it sit in there another half an hour before serving. Let it set even longer and re-heat it later, if you like. I don't make lasagna often because there's a lot of it, but the leftovers actually taste better than the first night because the added herbs and garlic have time to really sink in. It's a good thing, because now I have a week's worth of lunches. It ain't pretty, but it sho' is good.
Before I start in on this recipe, let me tell you that it is a heavily modified lasagna recipe. As in (obviously) there's no meat sause and also no ricotta or parmesan/Parmigiano Reggiano. Ricotta is a vegetarian cheese, but it's a colossal pain in the ass and I didn't really think it added all that much, so I started leaving it out a few years ago. So here we go. Note: The recipe is meant to be "easy" but I've put some alternatives in parentheses that may make it a little more labor intensive. The easiest part is you let the sauce and water from the vegetables cook the noodles instead of cooking them ahead of time (so this lasagna takes a little longer to cook in the oven).Ingredients:
1 cup chopped summer (yellow) squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 or 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot (to taste)
1 medium jar or can of mushrooms pieces and stems, drained (or fresh sliced mushrooms if you prefer)
1 cup thawed and drained frozen chopped broccoli (or fresh, finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
9 lasagna noodles (I use a whole grain noodle)
1 26 ounce-ish jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Newman's Own Organic Herb Marinara)
1 15 ounce can or 2 8 ounce cans of plain tomato sauce (I use the 15 ounce can of Contadina Roma Tomato Sauce or the Dole Organic Tomato Sauce)
Chopped garlic (I use the stuff in a jar, because I'm lazy like that)
Dried herbs (whatever you like--my favorite herb is rosemary, so I add it to my sauce).
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sauces into a medium bowl and add the chopped garlic and herbs (to taste) and mix well. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 pan (I use a glass baking dish) and then spread 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom. Place three noodles on top of the sauce, evenly spaced (they'll expand during cooking). Then spread the chopped broccoli, mushrooms and carrot over the noodles and top with half the cheese. Pour 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the cheese and then place three more noodles on top of the sauce. Sprinkle on the squash and zucchini and the rest of the cheese and cover with 1 cup of sauce. Place three more noodles on top and cover with the remaining sauce (cover it completely to avoid crunchy noodles). Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and (optional) sprinkle some additional cheese on top. Bake (not optional) another 15 minutes.
Notes: You can choose any combination of vegetables you like but note that some vegetables have a higher water content than others. The squash and zucchini in this recipe means that you have to let it set for a while after baking so that the water is absorbed. I usually just turn off the oven and let it sit in there another half an hour before serving. Let it set even longer and re-heat it later, if you like. I don't make lasagna often because there's a lot of it, but the leftovers actually taste better than the first night because the added herbs and garlic have time to really sink in. It's a good thing, because now I have a week's worth of lunches. It ain't pretty, but it sho' is good.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Almost Vegetarian
One of the cookbooks I have in my increasingly-large cookbook collection is entitled "Almost Vegetarian." And considering that nearly eight years into this process, I'm still stumbling over hidden critter bits and juice myself, I was intrigued by a comment on this post at Back in Skinny Jeans that I found via Brittney, she of now-deceased blog, Vegetarian Nashville, seein' as how she has relo'd to the Bay Area and I'm green with jealousy (insert pun here).
What was I saying? Oh, I found this blog, Almost Vegetarian. It's sassy. I like it. I've already found an easy and seemingly tasty recipe I want to try. And I don't yet know her well enough to tell her that Parmesan cheese (and certainly not Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese) is not vegetarian. I only found out myself a few months ago (you know, that rennet thing). As I've mentioned, the world is full of little landmines for vegetarians. She is, at least an admitted "almost" vegetarian. I'm sometimes an accidental and ignorant omnivore!
What was I saying? Oh, I found this blog, Almost Vegetarian. It's sassy. I like it. I've already found an easy and seemingly tasty recipe I want to try. And I don't yet know her well enough to tell her that Parmesan cheese (and certainly not Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese) is not vegetarian. I only found out myself a few months ago (you know, that rennet thing). As I've mentioned, the world is full of little landmines for vegetarians. She is, at least an admitted "almost" vegetarian. I'm sometimes an accidental and ignorant omnivore!
Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas
I have updated this recipe for black bean and corn enchiladas. Previously, I tried to skimp on fat and calories by not re-heating and re-fatting (?) the corn tortillas. Yesterday, I was feeling a bit cheeky and decided to try them the right way. That is, first heat your tortillas before rolling them up. And boy, was it worth it. So, here's the revised recipe:
Ingredients:
Corn tortillas
One can of black beans
Frozen whole kernel corn (or drained canned whole kernel corn)
Salsa
Shredded Mexican cheese (use your favorite cheese here or vegan cheddar)
Tomato sauce (for 8 enchiladas, I use 1 8 oz. can of organic tomato sauce)
To prepare the corn tortillas:
1. Heat a large fry pan on high heat with about a teaspoon of refined peanut oil (or other high smoke point oil; see here for a list of suggested oils). Keep the oil nearby.
2. Place one tortilla on the oil and brown for 3 or 4 seconds (long enough to pick up the next tortilla).
3. With a spatula, lift the first tortilla and put the new one down on the pan and the first on on top of it. Repeat with as many tortillas as you'll want to use. Add oil as necessary (every 2 or 3 tortillas).
4. Lay out on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
While the tortillas are cooling, mix together about half a can of black beans and equal amounts of (thawed or drained) corn with a little bit of your favorite salsa. Put a strip of the mixture in the middle of one tortilla, top it with some shredded cheese (don't overstuff) and roll it up and place it in a baking dish. Repeat until you've filled up your dish. Then cover the enchiladas with the tomato sauce (and salsa, if you like) and top with a little more shredded cheese.
Some recipes will call for all of the enchiladas to be covered with the sauce, but I prefer to keep part of the tortillas sauce-less so they can get crunchy while cooking. Bake at 375 for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted (if you used more cheese inside the enchiladas, they may need to bake longer). This photo is pre-baking, of course since I was starving by the time they were ready to eat. But, hey, I'm getting better.
I serve the enchiladas with a side dish of Mexican rice. Most Mexican rice blends in the groceries have chicken stock, so I buy the small package of saffron rice and stir in some salsa. The leftovers are good filling (along with leftover black beans) for burritoes.
Ingredients:
Corn tortillas
One can of black beans
Frozen whole kernel corn (or drained canned whole kernel corn)
Salsa
Shredded Mexican cheese (use your favorite cheese here or vegan cheddar)
Tomato sauce (for 8 enchiladas, I use 1 8 oz. can of organic tomato sauce)
To prepare the corn tortillas:
1. Heat a large fry pan on high heat with about a teaspoon of refined peanut oil (or other high smoke point oil; see here for a list of suggested oils). Keep the oil nearby.
2. Place one tortilla on the oil and brown for 3 or 4 seconds (long enough to pick up the next tortilla).
3. With a spatula, lift the first tortilla and put the new one down on the pan and the first on on top of it. Repeat with as many tortillas as you'll want to use. Add oil as necessary (every 2 or 3 tortillas).
4. Lay out on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
While the tortillas are cooling, mix together about half a can of black beans and equal amounts of (thawed or drained) corn with a little bit of your favorite salsa. Put a strip of the mixture in the middle of one tortilla, top it with some shredded cheese (don't overstuff) and roll it up and place it in a baking dish. Repeat until you've filled up your dish. Then cover the enchiladas with the tomato sauce (and salsa, if you like) and top with a little more shredded cheese.
Some recipes will call for all of the enchiladas to be covered with the sauce, but I prefer to keep part of the tortillas sauce-less so they can get crunchy while cooking. Bake at 375 for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted (if you used more cheese inside the enchiladas, they may need to bake longer). This photo is pre-baking, of course since I was starving by the time they were ready to eat. But, hey, I'm getting better.
I serve the enchiladas with a side dish of Mexican rice. Most Mexican rice blends in the groceries have chicken stock, so I buy the small package of saffron rice and stir in some salsa. The leftovers are good filling (along with leftover black beans) for burritoes.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Ouch
Holy cow, I paid three frickin' dollars for a red bell pepper from Nicaraugua at Harris Teeter. I really need to explore this locavore thing more. Though I'm not sure if, like my ancestors, I really want to survive all winter on blackeyed peas, cabbage, potatoes, squash and cornbread. I need a hothouse out back. Can Santa fit one of those on his sleigh?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)