Vegetarian Lasagne

This is a quick combo recipe for veggie Lasagne/Eggplant Parmigiana. Just leave out the noodles and spinach for Eggplant Parmigiana. You can par boil the noodles but these days I just use the no boil Lasagne noodles from Barilla (if you do decide to use parboiled noodles you will need to saute the spinach, mushrooms and onions before layering or it will make a big mushy mess).


SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

1 onion, peeled and diced
1 portobello mushroom cap diced
1 clove garlic
1 can of tomatoe puree
3 Tablespoons Tomatoe paste concentrate in the tube or 1 small can.
1/4 cup red wine
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
2 or 3 fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons (or a teaspoon of dry basil)
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO:

Heat the olive oil in large saucepan, add mushrooms, garlic and onions and cook till unions are translucent. Add the tomatoe paste and red wine whisk until the wine and tomatoe are blended then add the puree, herbs, reduce the heat and cook at a low simmer about 30 minutes.


EGGPLANT

INGREDIENTS:

1 Eggplant (the large purple ones) peeled and cut into 1/4 slices
2 cups Italian bread crumbs (I just use the progresso stuff from the supermarket or you can make your own)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
enough vegetable oil to give you about an inch of oil in a heavy cast iron skillet.

WHAT TO DO:

Beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Give the eggplant a bath in the egg/milk mixture then dredge in bread crumbs. Cook in hot oil until golden brown. Cool on a tray lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. (you can also bake the eggplant instead of fry it but it never seems to come out the same)


VEGETABLE/ CHEESE FILLING:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound raw spinich leaves
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms (or any other kind of mushroom or mix of mushrooms you like)
3 hard cooked eggs
1 pound whole milk mozzerella cheese (if you use part skim it's not as stringy as the whole milk but go for it if you prefer)
1 clove minced garlic

WHAT TO DO:

Throw it all in a food processor through the grate disc. (Growing up it was all chopped by hand and put in separate bowls but this is quicker, easier to clean up and works just as well) put in a bowl and set aside.


RICOTTA CHEESE FILLING

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. of Ricota Cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Pamesan cheese
1 egg
3 fresh basil leaves chopped fine
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
freshly ground pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO:

Since I'm kind of lazy I just attach the mixing blade to the food processor with what ever little bits are left from making the cheese/veg filling beat the eggs then add all the rest of the ingredients... pulse till it's just mixed.


PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

WHAT TO DO:

I use glass baking dishes from corning that have storage lids so any left overs can go right to the fridge in the same pan they were baked in but use any baking dish you have on hand or even use the disposable pans from the market. This should be more than enough to do a 9 x 13 pan that is 3" deep.

Start with a layer of sauce, covering the bottom of the pan. Then a layer of the no boil noodles, overlapping the noodles a little bit. Another layer of sauce, a layer of the vegetable/cheese filling, a layer of eggplant, then a layer of ricotta cheese filling, some more sauce then level it all out by pressing in another layer of noodles. Repeat until you either run out of ingredients or reach the top of the pan (actually leave a little space from the top so it doesn't bubble over when baking) making sure the top layer is noodles. Cover the last noodle layer in sauce, cover with foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. Remove the foil, add some mozzerella cheese to the top and bake another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Let the lasagne sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Brownies From Scratch

Haven't been posting much lately and will try to catch up. Tonight going to a friend's for dinner so... not cooking a meal but baked some brownies to bring. We'll have these topped with some Starbuck's Coffee Ice Cream.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 Cup butter
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 Cups flour
1/2 Cup powdered chocolate (I use Ghiradelli gound chocolate and cocoa powder... nice stuff)
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt

optional:
1/2 Cup chopped nuts

WHAT TO DO:

Blend melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. In separate bowl, mix flour, chocolate, baking powder, and salt. Fold egg mixture into flour. Put in greased pan, bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Korean Barbeque Tofu

Needed to use up the rest of the Tofu from last night's dressing so... With just a little advanced prep... you have a pretty tasty tofu dish... actual time to cook it all about 15 minutes (not including time to marinate the tofu)

MARINADE

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 Cup soy sauce (i'm using a low sodium variety)
2 Tablespoons sugar or sweetener of your choice
2 Teaspoons dry mustard
2 cloves of garlic (minced finely or through garlic press)
2 Tablespoons very finely diced onion
dash or two of ground cayanne pepper (optional and to taste)

WHAT TO DO:

Mix all the ingredients together

Slice the Tofu into 1/2 inch squares and lay in a flat pan... cover with the marinade, turn so that both sides absorb the liquid. let sit covered in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or over night.

To cook the Tofu... oil a cast iron or heavy pan (i'm using the stove top grill) and when hot add the tofu and brown on both sides...

I'm serving this on a bed of rice noodles with broccoli, cauliflour and carrots (also the remainder of the bag from last night) wich were lightly steamed in a bamboo steamer over the pot that I used to cook the noodles.

Green Salad with Tofu Thousand Island Dressing

It's still 90 degrees out there and not in the mood to even start a fire in the grill let alone cook... so... Just got one of those salad in a bag, some broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (also in a bag)... gave them a rinse and spin... added some cheese chunks and topped with this tasty tofu dressing...

Make any kind of salad you want and give it a try

TOFU THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. soft tofu
1/4 Cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced (or through garlic press)
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
3 Heaping Tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsely

WHAT TO DO:

Throw everything in the food processor or blender, let it rip till you have a smooth creamy consistency. This is way more than you will use on a single salad so put what ever is left over in a jar and store it in the fridge (check the expiration date on the tofu and don't keep it longer than that)

Grilled Veggies and brown rice

Took a couple days off from cooking this weekend... Saturday, I had leftover Pizza Rustica from Friday night (Not even I could finish the entire thing... even had it for lunch on Saturday). Sunday I had dinner with a friend and he cooked.

On to Monday...

There was a lot of bread last week... going to try and do some lighter meals this week heavy on the veggies.

BROWN RICE

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup brown rice
2 Cups Water (you can also use Chicken or Vegetable Stock)
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO:

Bring water or stock to a boil, add rice, bring back to a boil, stir and simmer for about 40 minutes or until water or stock is absorbed. In the mean time...

I did this on a charcoal grill so while the rice is cooking and veggies sitting in the marinade... start a fire. If you're doing this on a gas or stovetop grill... skip to...

MARINADE

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Freshly ground salt and Black pepper to taste
1 or 2 Tablespoon fresh parsley stemmed & chopped
1 or 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano stemmed & chopped
1 or 2 Dashes of ground cayanne pepper (optional like everything else here... add whatever herbs you like)

WHAT TO DO:

Toss all the Marinade ingredients into a gallon plastic bag and add the...

VEGGIES

INGREDIENTS:

1 Small eggplant, peeled and sliced
1 Yellow Summer Squash
1 zuchini squash
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Red Onion
1 Portobello Bella Mushroom cap

WHAT TO DO:

Wash and cut all the veggies into 1/2 inch pieces... I cut them lengthwise. Mush up the bag to make sure everything is coated and let sit about 15 minutes. Remove from bag and place directly on the hot grill for about 3 or 4 minutes, turn over and grill an additional 2 or 3 minutes or until the veggies are tender. By this time the rice should be done. Serve the veggies on a bed of rice.

Pizza Rustica

Friday is pizza night. Here is a recipe for a deep dish pizza.

This is another recipe where, in most places all of the ingredients are available, the dough, sauce and most of the fillings can be had... I just prefer doing it myself. This is also another one where you can get real creative... use veggies instead of meat or use meatballs instead of sausage... just thorw in the things you like, it's hard to go wrong. I also combined all the meats, mushrooms etc... into one pot... saves on clean up.

PIZZA DOUGH

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
3 Cups flour (yes... only using unbleached flour tonight you could replace a cup of whole wheatn and just adjust water like the pita)
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 Cup warm water

WHAT TO DO:

OK... I'm lazy again and useing a bread machine to mix, knead and raise the dough.
Put all the dry ingredients in the bread machine and start on the dough setting. Add the water (depending on what type of flour you're using you may need a little more water...the dough ball should not be sticky).

I usually leave the dough in the machine till it's done with the initial rise or after the kneading, remove the dough and put it in an oiled bowl and cover for about an hour or until it's doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, make the sauce/filling mix.


SAUCE/FILLING

INGREDIENTS:

2 links Italian sausage (I'm using hot but you can use mild if you like that better)
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 portobello mushroom cap diced
1 clove garlic
1 can of tomatoe puree
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
2 or 3 fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons (or a teaspoon of dry basil)
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil

WHAT TO DO:

Heat the olive oil in large skillet, remove the sausage from the casing and brown, add mushrooms, garlic and onions and cook till unions are translucent. Add the tomatoe puree, dried oregano, romano cheese (and dried basil... if using fresh add it when filling pizza), reduce the heat and cook at a low simmer about 30 minutes. set aside to cool till the dough has risen, if you are using fresh basil stir it in now.

The only other ingredient that I will be using is 1/2 lb shredded mozzerella cheese, you can use any or a combination of cheeses that you like.


PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Once the dough has risen about 1 hour or till doubled in size. punch it down and divide in 2 one piece using about 3/4 of dough. Roll the larger piece to about 1 1/2 times the size of the pan you will be using (I'm using a ceramic quiche pan) on a floured surface, oil the pan and place the dough in and press into place, some radom piercings with a fork on the bottom layer will help get rid of air bubbles while it's cooking. fill the dough with 1/2 the sauce mixure then 1/2 the shredded mozzarella cheese, another layer of sauce/filling then the rest of the mozzerella. Roll out the remaining dough to cover the pan and pinch the edges all the way around the pan to seal the dough.

Cook in a preheated 375 degree oven on the middle rack for about 1 hour or until the dough is a golden brown color.

Hummus, raw veggies, cheese and home made pita

All stuff you can buy easy enough but none of it is hard to do and I like knowing what's in my food (as much as I can). This is also something that you can make tonight and have tomorrow for lunch or a snack. For the veggies I just get a bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots... all cut and washed (yes... I am lazy with some things), I just wash and drain them again before eating. Having this with extra sharp Vermont cheddar.

Again... doing fresh fruit for dessert

HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of chick peas
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
couple dashes of ground cumin (to taste)
couple dashes of ground cayanne pepper (to taste)
1/4 olive oil (more or less depending on consistency preference)

WHAT TO DO:

Add everything but the olive oil to food processor and slowly drizzle the olive oil till you have a smooth paste. How easy is that?

PITA BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
3 Cups flour (I'm using 2 cups unbleached and 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup quaker oat meal tonight)
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 Cup warm water

WHAT TO DO:

OK... I'm lazy again and use a bread machine to mix and knead the dough.
Put all the dry ingredients in the bread machine and start on the dough setting. Add the water (depending on what type of flour you're using you may need a little more water...the dough ball should not be sticky).

I usually leave the dough in the machine till it's done with the initial rise or after the kneading, remove the dough and put it in an oiled bowl and cover for about an hour or until it's doubled in size.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece out flat to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Bake on a high heat for 4 minutes (I lined the bottom of my oven with unglazed terracotta tile and bake directly on that you can either use a pizza stone or large cookie sheet), and then turn over and bake an additional 2 minutes. Remove and let cool a bit before serving.