Veggie Lasagna

I imagined myself coming back from India and writing all about the food I ate and how to make it. However, lately I've been a bit short on kitchen space so the Indian food adventures will have to wait for now.

I did however make a bomb lasagna recently. I tried to incorporate healthier ingredients whenever possible and it turned out great!

Double layered Spinach/Mushroom lasagna

1 bag of spinach (Fresh or frozen) If you do fresh keep the lid off so the water evaporates while cooking...
1 container of low fat ricotta or cottage cheese
1 carton of crimini mushrooms
3 portobella mushrooms
1 large mushroom
1 cup of a dry white wine
olive oil
1 large onion
1 container of trader joe's no-boil lasagna noodles
1 jar of red sauce of your choice. I like Trader Joes Basil Marinara...
fresh thyme (5 sprigs)
nutmeg 1/4 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
Low fat mozzarella cheese one package



I started by prepping the two layers in two different pans. Chop onions and mushrooms finely. Sautee olive oil, half the onions onions, mushrooms, white wine, fresh thyme and salt and pepper in one pan. Then sautee the spinach with olive oil, the other half of the onions, a splash of white wine and salt and pepper. Let the veggies cool then mix 3/4 of the ricotta/mozzarella with the spinach then add the nutmeg and the rest with the mushroom combination.

Assemble the lasagna by first adding a thin layer of red sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of spinach then top with noodles. Follow with a layer of mushrooms and noodles. Repeat. Top with the rest of the red sauce and mozzarella cheese and follow the baking directions on the pasta box until ready. Enjoy.

Guest Chef Recipe: Ginger Pear Tart

So my housemate Rachel is quite talented with the entire genre of pies. She can whip up the most incredible assortment of savory and sweet pies with ease. Somehow they are always incredible and sugar (but not fructose, honey or agave) free. Needless to say, I have started looking forward to Rachel uttering the phrase: "I feel like making pie"

This one was perfect on a rainy Seattle day with a nice cup of tea.

Ingredients:
1 9" square of puff pastry
3 D'Anjou pears-sliced
4 tablespoons of butter
1 grated stick of ginger
1/4 cup of agave
1 tbsp of fructose
1/8 tsp of salt

In a cast iron pan melt the butter then add the fructose and agave. Cook on medium heat until golden brown and bubbly. Add the minced ginger and salt, then bring to a boil again. Add the pears and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Top with the pastry dough then put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 F. Enjoy!

One of the top five most amazing things I've ever made.

I don't really know what to call these... vegetable tortes? Caramelized onion and mushroom pockets? Vegetarian amazingness? Best alternative to turkey at Thanksgiving? Who knows. Either way I managed to impress some people with this one.

I ended up doing this in two steps. The night before I threw the filling together while I was making something else for dinner and then stored it in the fridge to save time the next day... I attribute some of the amazingness the fact that the filling sat in the fridge for almost 24 hours before meeting the rest of the dish.

Ingredients:
3 onions (1.5 for caramelizing and 1.5 for filling)
2 tablespoons of agave
2 tablespoons of butter (one for each like the onions)
2 portobella mushrooms
3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 container of crimini mushrooms chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1 whole Trader Joe's size package of tempeh
1 cup of a dry white wine
1 cup of vegetable broth
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 package of puff pastry dough
Fresh rosemary, sage, oregano and thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
Gruyere and Swiss cheese (1/2 cup grated)

The night before I caramelized half the onions in one pan with some butter, a few teaspoons of white wine and a splash of agave. In another pan I sautee the rest of the butter with the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Once the onions are soft, add the vegetable broth, white wine, apply cider vinegar, a tsp of agave and herbs...simmer for about ten minutes. Add the cut up tempeh and cook everything on low-med for about half an hour. Let cool and store both the caramelized onions and vegetable mix in the refrigerator overnight.

The following day mix the heated vegetable mixture with the breadcrumbs and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the puff pastry into squares that fit into a muffin tin and up the sides. Place a circular piece of foil into the bottom and "blind bake" the pasty sheets for 6 minutes. Fill the pastries with the vegetable breadcrumb mix, spoon a bit of caramelized onions onto the mixture and then top with the cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees F until the cheese is melted. You can easily do a cheese free version... I even did a few without puff pastry and they were also pretty tasty...

Pumpkin Spice Greek Frozen Yogurt

Going along with the fall pumpkin flavored things theme... I accidentally bought normal greek yogurt at the store instead of the non-fat kind I usually get. I decided to try out the ice-cream maker that was sitting in our freezer and it was surprisingly much easier to make ice cream than I previously imagined...

1/2 can of pumpkin
1 container of greek yogurt (Trader Joe's Size)
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
Agave to taste... I probably used 1/4 cup but you can add more or less depending on your sweet tooth.

Mix all ingredients together and then place in the ice cream maker. Stir until desired consistency is achieved. This stores pretty well in the freezer just make sure to transfer to a container first... I ended up having an hour long defrosting encounter in order to eat another serving of this...

Crispy Collard Greens with White Cheddar, Leek and Herb Mashed Potatoes

Wednesdays around our condo are pretty great. Mixed in with the morning routine is the ritualistic unpacking of the vegetable delivery. Today some collard greens showed up. I have never see a "collard green" before so I spent the spare moments of my day thinking about what on earth I was to do with this interesting vegetable.



You can't tell from the photo but the diameter of a collard green can be a little intimidating... the ones we received were about a foot in diameter... talk about some hefty greens!

I decided to go for a crispy approach:
I took about 4 large leaves, washed them and chopped them up into bite sized pieces. I tossed the greens with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Then I placed the greens on a baking sheet and baked at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. The result is crispy amazingneess-think crisp dry seaweed but way better.

Then I decided to make mashed potatoes... not the unhealthy buttery kind but something that I wouldn't feel yucky after eating. I boiled 2 medium sized potatoes until soft. Then in a medium sized cast iron pan I added:
1/4 cup of chopped leeks
2 tablespoons of fresh herbs: rosemary, oregano and sage
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove of chopped garlic

Once those ingredients were light brown I added about two cups of fresh spinach. After the spinach wilted I added the peeled potatoes, 1/4 cup of freshly grated white cheddar cheese and a few tablespoons of soy milk. I mixed it all together and voila... amazing mashed potatoes.

Muy rica.

I freaking love breakfast.

My obsession with breakfast has reached a new level. The mere thought of french press Pete's coffee in the morning before work is the only reason I jump out of my bed without hitting the snooze button. I usually spend about thirty minutes in the mornings listening to NPR while making an egg over medium and something else to go on the side. The "side" breakfast item is my favorite 7 am debate as I am usually deciding between my go to greek yogurt, granola and frozen mango combination or my new favorite waffle greek yogurt, agave and blueberry combination. I find for the first time in my life that I'm not sluggish in the morning, I actually remember to take my vitamins, and I'm not starting my day frazzled by the thought of being late.

Given my appreciation of the morning meal I just had to pay tribute to this photo of the brunch I had with my roommates a couple weekends ago. Whole wheat vanilla bean scones were the main attraction with a lemon zest fruit salad on the side. YUM.

Green curry inspired soup

I had the pleasure of cooking for two of my best friends this last weekend. I had been craving green curry and tom ka gai soup all week so I decided to create a soup inspired by both.



Green curry thai inspired soup

Half a jar of Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste
1 can of low fat coconut milk
1 box of vegetable broth
Half an eggplant
1 cup of mushrooms chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger
Half a block of tofu chopped and pan fried
rice noodles (about 1 handful)
Fresh basil for garnish.

In a saute pan fry up the tofu and then add the chopped up vegetables. In a soup pot add the curry paste and ginger. Slowly add the coconut milk, mixing it slowly into the other ingredients. Add broth and heat until simmering. Add the rice noodles. Once they are almost soft add the vegetables. Serve with fresh basil on top! (Obviously I forgot that step).



I paired the curry with this reisling that my friend who is a wine connoisseur of sorts picked out. The tasting notes describe it better than I could (trust me this is a good one):
"Fresh, clean and crisp, the 2009 Poet’s Leap offers generous aromas of fresh citrus, star fruit, kumquat and flint with flavors of ripe melon and white peach that dance on the palate. This is a lively Riesling with just a hint of sweetness, wonderfully balanced by its natural acidity and a clean, racy finish."