Is It Still Lasagna?

  I made lasagna this afternoon. Italianates and food purists should probably just take their leave now, because this definitely isn't traditional.
   I started with whole wheat pasta. I like Ronzoni. It's readily available and to be honest, I don't detect a noticeable difference in texture or flavor, although I'll be the first to admit I don't have a sensitive palate.
Sauce goes in the (disposable) pan. Yes....I do use ready made sauce. So sue me. I use the noodles uncooked and spread the ricotta on the noodle just like peanut butter on a graham cracker.

  I thawed out a package of chopped spinach, sauteed a Walla Walla onion, and about a 1/2lb. of sliced mushrooms, and put them in a bowl all together. I used 1 1/2 leftover chicken breast, diced, mostly because that's what I had. I've been known to use leftover Something In A Tortilla meat (an upcoming episode), with good result. I had grated cheese at the ready. So it goes together like this:

Sauce in the pan, layer of ricotta coated noodles, veggies.

Meat, cheese, more sauce. Repeat.

 
The last layer is noodles without ricotta, although I can't imagine more ricotta would be a bad thing. Is that possible? Then a good layer of sauce. I don't skimp on the amount of sauce because the uncooked noodles absorb a lot of moisture. One more layer of grated cheese. Today I didn't have any mozzarella cheese (what was I thinking?), so I used what I had on hand, which is how this blog got started in the first place. Grated Monterey jack and mild cheddar in this case. Oh don't make that face...just wait..

   I covered the whole thing with foil and baked it for 45 minutes, then uncovered and continued to bake for another 15 minutes. You should smell this kitchen!          

    
Did I mention I made bread?  Our friends and neighbors Don and Kitty have a bed and breakfast down the road, the beautiful Inn At Crippin Creek ( www.crippencreek.com ). They also offer cooking classes. And my friends, they are REAL cooks. Anyway I took a bread making class from them, and now I don't feel intimidated by the thought of making a loaf or two for dinner. Of course, their loaves are much more beautifully formed.

 
 A loaf of bread, a glass of wine, a nice salad, and whole wheat chicken lasagna. Life is good.

Tastes Like Chicken

   

   My granddaughter is staying with me for several weeks this summer. The secondary benefit from that is that my daughter and her husband get some "we" time. And what better way to spend it than cooking for each other. Food is nurturing by definition, both nutritionally and emotionally.

   Dan made chicken picatta with asparagus and mashed potatoes. Oh Yum! I think the problem I have when I try to make this dish is that I try to cut too many corners in order to cut the calorie count. I saute the chicken instead of coating it..stuff like that. Sometimes the hit you take in flavor just isn't worth it.

So It's Not Risotto

   Yesterday I wanted to have a simple supper. I decided to make a rice dish as the main dish, but could I leave well enough alone? Noooooo. After checking out supplies in the pantry and the fridge, I decided to make an almost-risotto-wild-rice-bulgar-thingie-with-asparagas-and-mushrooms.
   I like adding bulgar to rice dishes. It boosts the protein and fiber content without significantly impacting taste or texture. Usually I mix it half and half. So here's how it went together.
     I started with a box of of RiceARoni Long Grain and Wild Rice mix. Ok so sue me. Open the box, pour the grains in a measuring cup, set aside the flavor packet, and throw away the directions on the box. Now, whatever the rice mix measures to (I think it was just about 3/4 of a cup),  pour in an equal part of bulgar. Assuming my memory serves, that would put the measured grains at 1 1/2 cups. You're a smart person... it's not surgery, it's food. Put the grains in a pan and add the flavor packet (I use a covered skillet). Double the amount of liquid as grain. I used 2 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup whatever white wine was open, and put it into the rice. You can begin heating the rice now, but I waited until I had the asparagus and mushrooms ready.

     I cut 1/2 lb asparagus into 1" pieces and put them in a separate skillet along with a handful of diced mushrooms, sauteed them for a few minutes in some butter, then added them to the rice. Once the rice pan was simmering, I turned it onto low and let it cook for 30 minutes.
    While the rice was cooking, I grated some lemon zest, and a fat 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. When the rice was done, I tossed in the lemon zest, the cheese, and served it with a nice salad.
     Was it that perfect creaminess that is risotto? Nope. Did I aggravate my  shoulder with all that stirring? Nope.  Was there any left after dinner? Nope.

Kaiser Permanente-Survive..er..Thrive

 Sometimes Life's road is uphill. This time it is not only uphill but full of switchbacks and rockslides. I've been out of state for the last six weeks helping my sister take care of Mom. At 88, Mom is usually an energetic, independent woman. With one misdiagnoses after another, she has been through a very tough time. We hope to get her home this week and back on her very busy two feet.    Thank you, everyone for your prayers and patience.

Banana Nana Fo Fanna

Last week after running errands all day I was pretty tired, so I stopped at Sharon's Pizza and picked up a bake-at-home pizza. Well, it sat out on the counter for two hours, and by the time I put it in the oven, man that yeast was happening! What is better than bread, cheese and veggies?!

Yesterday I wanted to make Ed something special since he was working so hard on the house construction, so I made his favorite cake. Banana Pecan Cranberry Rum cake.

I always use buttermilk when I bake. It gives a nice rise to the cake. Dried cranberries add a little color. Now the thing about bananas.., You know how it is. You buy a bunch of bananas, you eat four of them and then the other two sit on the counter until they get a little...unruly. I just peel them, put two in a ziplock sandwich bag, and put them in the freezer. When I want to make something bananay (is that a word?), I just take them out. At this point they look really awful. They're really brown, mushy and liquidy. Not to fear. Take them out of the bag, liquid and all, mash them up, or use a whisk, and put them in the batter. Besides, considering how much rum goes into the cake, who cares what the bananas looked like?  

Who's Hungry? Rice Your Hand.

     We have family visiting for the weekend. I wanted to keep meals simple but tasty. Once again I decided to braise the meat, this time boneless pork shortribs. I cheated and used a bottled BBQ sauce, added some water and a little red wine, then popped it in the oven for about 2 hours.

   I also made rice, but I make mine a little differently than most people. I use a ratio of 2/1 rice to bulgar, and cook it just like white rice. This boosts the protein and fiber without significantly changing the taste or texture of the rice.  Some steamed broccoli and we were all set. Delicious!

High Braise Indeed!

Last week I was braising everything in sight. I love the depth and richness of the flavors braising creates, but I find I have to do it in the winter because the oven creates too much heat in the summer. I used a basic chuck roast, browned it, then threw in about 5 cloves of chopped garlic, some tomato paste, red wine, beef stock base, let's see.. herbes de Provence, like that. Then I put it in the oven at 325 for several hours. I threw the mushrooms in for the last hour. Oh, the house smelled so wonderful!

The beef had to share the oven with the vegetables, another favorite recipe of mine. Red potatoes, carrots,artichoke hearts, zucchini, maui sweet onions, and of course, garlic...what have you. Toss them in olive oil with some salt and pepper, and throw them in a foil lined pan. They went in the oven about the same time the mushrooms went in the braise. Forty five minutes later..oh man, was my mouth happy!

I've not tried to braise a chicken, and that's probably what I should have done with last night's bird. It was a fairly large bird. I always feel sorry for them in their raw state. They look so...vulnerable.

   Anyway, we have a rotisserie/roaster, so after trussing the bird, I put it on the spit and set it for 1 1/2 hours. This is usually a failsafe method.This particular bird wasn't tough, but it wasn't tender either. It probably could have benefitted from another 15 minutes on the spit.
   Next time, I may braise the chicken.