Vegetarian Lasagna

Making lasagna is like planning a wedding. There are thousands of varying traditions and just as many ways to go about it. Some say location and food are most important, others say music and color scheme. In the end, you just need to decide what’s most important to you.

Some prefer their lasagna with lots of veggies, others like it with beef. I like lasagna to be really saucy and cheesy – stuffed with ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and basil.

After years of trying various recipes, and never getting the cheesy result that I wanted – always too noodley, too saucy, too vegetabley – I finally decided to set out on my own. Another thing (and then I promise to get off my lasagna recipe roasting soap box) is that every recipe I’ve ever tried calls for either too many or too few lasagna noodles. Too many and you then have to scramble to mix up more ricotta to make a second batch in whatever other baking pan you have lying around. Too few and you end up with a soupy lasagna.

My lasagna uses a count of twelve 12″ lasagna noodles (you’ll end up with a few in the cabinet later, but it’s a small price to pay for a good lasagna). This recipe also uses more ricotta cheese than most, as well as a good amount of Bechemel. The result is that rich, thick lasagna that you’d find in a good Italian-American restaurant. Great for winter when fresh veggies aren’t available, because the sauce can be made with either fresh or canned tomatoes.

Vegetarian Lasagna – serves 12

12 – 12″ lasagna noodles (this length is pretty standard)
3 cups tomato sauce (see recipe below)
3 cups Bechemel sauce (see recipe below)
1 – 32 oz tub of Ricotta Cheese (I prefer full fat over skim which can become chalky)
1/4 C fresh chopped basil
2 eggs
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil

Start off by make the sauces (instructions below).

While the tomato sauce simmers and the Bechemel gradually thickens over a very low heat, cook the lasagna noodles about 2 minutes less than instructed and be sure to not allow the water to get to a rolling boil. This ensures that the pasta does not over cook and the decorative ruffles stays intact. Drain and rinse.

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin the layers by spreading the bottom of a 13×9 inch lasagna pan with half of the Bechemel sauce. Arrange lasagna noodles at the bottom of the pan so that they overlap – 4 per layer. It’s okay if the noodles are a little short. Just center them and they will continue to grow as they cook and absorb more liquid.

Spread one half of the ricotta mixture over the lasagna noodles. Top with half of the tomato sauce. Cover with another layer of lasagna noodles.

Arrange half of the mozzarella slices over the noodles. Cover with the rest of the Bechemel and then ricotta mixture. Top with the last four lasagna noodles.

Finally, cover the top with the rest of the tomato sauce and artfully arrange the rest of the mozzarella slices. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Bechemel Sauce – makes about  2 1/2 cups

1/4 cup salted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it bubbles, add flour. Stir over medium heat to form a golden paste. Lower heat and gradually add milk 1/2 cup at a time, whisking each addition until smooth. Keep on very low heat, as you prepare the other lasagna ingredients, whisking occasionally to keep from separating or turning lumpy. Raise heat and whisk to thicken just before assembling the lasagna.

Yankee Cook’s Quick Tomato Sauce – makes about 4 cups

1 T olive oil
1/4 C chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed or smashed and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1/3 C vegetable or chicken stock
1 t sugar

Heat olive oil in a 2 quart saucepan over a medium flame. Add onions and cook until transparent, but not browned. Add garlic and carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, stock until well combined.  Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Ingredient origins – Lasagna Noodles – Italy, Canned organic tomatoes – California; Olive oil – Italy, Organic onion – unknown; Garlic – Chile; Carrot – unknown; Tomato paste – unknown; Vegetable stock – my own; Sugar – Florida; Butter – Maine; Flour – Vermont; Milk – Vermont; Ricotta – Wisconsin; Basil – Massachusetts; Eggs – New Hampshire; Parmesan Cheese – Italy; Mozzarella – Vermont

Blueberry Muffins

I really miss the farmers markets. During the summer months we keep the kitchen stocked with fresh local vegetables and fruits – especially berries. This time of year though, the only fresh berries around are very tart, bathed in pesticides and have traveled thousands of miles.

Rather than going that route, I like to either freeze a few pints in the summer when they are at their peak, or buy locally grown and packaged frozen berries. It sounds counter-intuitive, but frozen berries are not a terribly tragic option in the winter because they are packaged and frozen at their peak, and therefore retain their nutrients and flavor nicely.

I will say though, once thawed, frozen blueberries do lose some of their plumpness, so I like to bake them into muffins.

This recipe for blueberry muffins also calls for an optional half cup of walnuts to add texture and protein. Walnuts also offer vitamin E, omega 3 fatty acid and antioxidants. Combine that with blueberries and, dare I say, you may have a superfood muffin on your hands.

Blueberry Muffins – makes 12 medium sized muffins

2 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1/2 C sugar + some for sprinklage
1/3 C sour cream
1 C milk
1/3 canola oil
1 1/2 C frozen blueberries
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)
Non-stick spray or desired grease for the pan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl – if you wanted to get really fancy, I suppose you could sift the ingredients together.

Using an electric beater, mix the egg, sugar, sour cream, milk and canola oil  in a separate bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with the beater until just combined, getting rid of any lumps.

Stir in the nuts, if using and then carefully stir in the blueberries. Try not to disturb them too much so that the batter will stay batter colored, rather than turning purple. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that the contrast looks nice and the berries stay juicy.

Pour into greased muffin tin. There should be enough batter for each cup to be filled to the rim – this along with the reaction of the soda and powder should result in a nice muffin top.

Sprinkle the top of each with sugar  – I like to use turbinado for this application because of the larger granules and nice golden color.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Ingredient origins: Flour – Vermont; Baking soda – unknown; Baking powder – Massachusetts; Salt – Maine; Egg – New Hampshire; Sugar – Florida; Sour cream – Vermont; Milk – Vermont; Canola oil – unknown; Frozen blueberries – Maine; Walnuts – California

Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

I was visiting with a friend in New York a few years ago when the subject of dinner came up. We discussed going to a nearby fondue restaurant and, as much as I love cheese, I pointed out that maybe we should opt for something a little healthier with vegetables and protein, etc. My friend, who is a dietitian replied, “Cheese is a protein.”

Case closed. That is why it’s great to be friends with a dietitian. It’s like the lady said, cheese is protein. Not the leanest, admittedly, but a protein nonetheless.

Stuffed tomatoes are great for side dish or a light meal. This dish is like a lighter, fresher tasting version of pizza. Use any type of cheddar. In this case I used Grafton Village Cheese Company’s Sage Cheddar, which is why you see little green specs on the cheese in the pictures.

Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes - serves 2 – 4

1/2 C cooked white long grain rice
1 egg
1/2 C  cubed cheddar cheese
4 thin 1″x1″ slices of cheddar cheese
4 medium tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat egg and add to rice. Mix in cubed cheddar.

To hollow out the tomatoes – cut off the top. Cut out the stem out of the top piece and discard, reserving the rest. Using a knife, free the inside structure from the tomato’s walls. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Remove any seed membranes and white parts and discard. Dice the remaining internal structure along with the tops. Scoop any remaining seeds from the tomato shells.

Add diced tomato bits to the rice mixture. Scoop the rice mixture into the tomatoes. It’s ok if it there is enough to create a small mound.

Carefully place on a rack on a bakling sheet. Bake 25 minutes. Place cheese slices on top and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allowto rest 5 minutes before serving.

Ingredient origins: Rice – California; Egg – New Hampshire; Cheddar – Vermont; Tomatoes – Maine

Broccoli Feta pie

There’s something wonderful about the way broccoli and feta go together. Feta’s brininess brings out a sweetness in the broccoli that otherwise might go undetected, and the textures work well together too.

This dish is really easy to make, but seems decadent and complicated because of the filo. It’s also a good dish to make if you’ve opened a package of filo dough and have a few sheets left over…

Broccoli Feta Pie – serves 2 – 4

6 sheets of filo dough
1/3 C olive oil
2 1/2 C chopped broccoli, steamed
4 oz feta cheese, diced
10 kalmata olives

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Brush a medium sized baking dish with olive oil. Place a sheet of filo dough on the dish and brush with olive oil. Repeat with three more sheets, arranging to fit the baking dish, covering the sides, folding where necessary and overlapping to create a base consisting of at least three layers of filo in any given spot.

Crumple and chop the two additional sheets of filo. Toss with remaining olive oil.

Arrange broccoli in the dish, then feta and olives.  Top with the crumpled filo dough.

Bake 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve hot.

Ingredient origins: Filo dough – ; Olive oil – Italy; Organic broccoli – California; Feta cheese – Maine; Kalamata olives –

Scrambled Tofu

I’ve always said that brunch is the most important meal of the week. While I am a big fan of eggs (Total understatement. I’m egg’s no.1 fan. Egg has stopped answering my phone calls. Legal action has been taken. It’s gotten messy.) and could probably go for a nice scramble any morning, I’m also woefully aware that one egg contains 60 – 80% of the recommended daily maximum intake of cholesterol, so just think of how two eggs a day could add up. Yikes.

Scrambled tofu is a good way to have a satisfying, protein-rich, eggy-type breakfast without the pesky fat and cholesterol. Turmeric lends a nice yellow hue to the tofu as it cooks and is said to be a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Onions add flavor, texture and vitamins, and smoked paprika adds a smoky flavor.

*Note that this recipe yields one generous serving or two modest servings.

Scrambled Tofu – serves 1 – 2

1/2 yellow or white onion, diced
1 T + 1 t olive oil
7 – 8 ounces of extra firm tofu (about half of a typical package of tofu)
1/4 t turmeric
1/4 t smoked paprika
2 T soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add onion and sauté until softened and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, press tofu between two cutting boards to remove any excess water. Cube the tofu and loosely mash with a fork in a small mixing bowl. Toss in turmeric, smoked paprika, soy sauce and second teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper until well combined.

Add tofu mixture to the onions in the skillet. Cook 5 – 7 minutes until the turmeric yellows and the tofu is heated through, flipping occasionally. Drizzle with a little olive oil, if desired.

Serve hot alone or with toast.

Ingredient origins – Tofu – New York; Olive oil – Italy, Onion – New Hampshire; Turmeric – unknown; Smoked paprika – Spain