Grilled Zucchini Lasagna

This lasagna is evil. Usually I say that and mean its so good it needs to be locked away so that one isnt tempted to eat the whole thing. This time I actually mean it, this recipe is evil.

Several times while making it either the fella or I have had to leave the room or house, tensions run that high while trying to make it. It is a complicated little bugger. Getting the sauce the proper consistency, the noodles cooked just right, and zucchini grilled is enough to make the best cook rip out their hair. We learned after the first time not to bother making the roasted pepper ourselves, it just adds to the stress.

Ive made much more intense and complicated recipes without losing my head so Im not quite sure what makes this recipe so irritating. Probably doesnt help that the original recipe is written in confusing language bordering on gibberish, which is a problem with all the recipes in this particular book. Unfortunately the recipes in High Flavor Low Fat Vegetarian Cooking are so good we keep going back to it even after being tortured by it time and again. Its just we let 6 months or so go before we attempt to cook anything in it, which is about the amount of time it takes for me to forget how frustrated the recipes make me and decide its a good idea to create one of them again.

The good news is the end result is almost worth all the effort. For a dairy free vegetarian recipe it does a very good job of faking the taste of a big cheesy high fat lasagna full of grease and other bad things. Its surprising what well seasoned sauce and grilled vegetables can achieved. Its rather filling and satisfying and went really well with the Cline Syrah. Then again Im biased and have loved everything from Cline.



Cline is solar powered and self sustaining though not certified organic (they arent all natural and that certification process is damn expensive.) Last summer the fella, his two sisters, and I went on a trek through Sonoma and had the best time at Cline. They had a farmers market of veggies grown on the grounds and the garden they do their tastings in is beautiful. I cant wait to go back soon.



Sadly only their very basic wines are readily available in Madison. Their Cool Climate Syrah is to die for but I havent found a bottle of it since Sonoma. Their basic Syrah was a decent substitute, nice fruit and tannin balance. It was everything I expect out of a $10 California Syrah, it was easy to drink and not too big though I do love a fruity Australian monster Syrah just as much. When Im in the mood for a particular varietal but cant make a decision I go for the Cline, all of their wines are winners. And they help take the edge off after waiting endlessly for dinner to finish cooking.

Grilled Zucchini Lasagna

RED PEPPER SAUCE
4 roasted red peppers (homemade or from a jar)
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs (we skipped this)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon saffron, soaked in a tablespoon of hot water
2/3 cup vegetable stock (1/3 cup if not using bread crumbs)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

LASANGA
6 medium zucchinis
2 teaspoons oil
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
20 basil leaves


Roast, peel, core and seed the red peppers if roasting them yourself. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat, cook onion and garlic until soft but not browned, about 4 minutes. Combine peppers, onion mixture, and bread crumbs (if using) and puree to a smooth paste in a food processor. Add vinegar, saffron, and enough vegetable stock to make a thick sauce (it should be the consistency of soft ice cream.) Correct the seasoning, adding salt, pepper, cayenne and vinegar to taste.

Preheat a grill pan to high heat. Cut zucchinis lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Brush zucchini slices on both sides with oil and grill until limp, about 2 to 4 minutes per side.

Cook the lasagna noodles in rapidly boiling salted water for about 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 8 by 11 inch baking dish. Spread 3 of the noodles over the bottom. Arrange 1/3 of the zucchini over the noodles. But 1/3 of the basil leaves over the zucchini, then 1/3 of the red pepper sauce on top of that. Make a second and a third layer in this fashion.

Bake the lasagna for 30 to 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated through.

Original recipe from High Flavor Low Fat Vegetarian Cooking.

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Falafel Salad with Grilled Vegetables

This is what happens when Im in the mood for a new version of falafel and have been spending time lingering in Raw food blogs looking for desserts and bread substitutes I can eat. The Raw food thing intrigues me but I could never do it. Just modifying this recipe for dinner frustrated me to the point I had to tap in the fella to cook while I did dishes for awhile unmolested by the falafel that refused to blend.

The pumpkin seeds were a problem. First of all we could only fine salted and roasted pumpkin seeds which made the falafel super salty. Also pumpkin seeds are a bitch in the food processor, or at least in mine. It was not going well and when I added the rest of the sticky viscous ingredients it was even less cooperative. Eventually after much swearing (on my part) and gentle coercion (on the fellas part) we got a mixture with a nice consistency. Unlike other falafel recipes that tend to fall apart in the pan, there was no risk these doing so, once those pumpkin seeds gave it up these were some hardy balls of falafel . And aside from being too salty they were delicious. Who knew that pumpkin seeds, sun dried tomatoes and olives would go so great together.

While the fella was sweet talking the falafel mixture into submission I grilled the veggies on one of my favorite things in the kitchen, the grill pan. This is as close as I get to grilling so I would be lost at moments like these with out it.

The falafel and veggies on top of some baby spinach made for a delicious and very filling dinner. Not bad for borrowing an idea for something uncooked and turning it into a big warm salad. I am curious about the directions for an uncooked flour free tortilla and hummus made from macadamia nuts. If I can borrow a dehydrator from someone I would give his carb free breads a try.



I have no idea what sort of wine to pair with something like this so I went with what I was in the mood for. Root:1 wines from Chile are some of my favorites. The Sauvignon Blanc is a tropical fruit salad of yum. And the Cabernet is full of red fruit and spice. It isnt super complex, it just makes for good drinking when you want a big bodied red that isnt going to make you think to hard about it. My only warning is, let this bad boy open up for an hour or so before drinking. Straight from the bottle it is too tight and will punch you in the uvula, its worth the wait, I promise.

Falafel Salad with Grilled Vegetables

FALAFEL
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped (I skipped this)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
8 sun-dried tomato halves packed in oil
3 tablespoons cilantro
1 clove garlic, coarsely shopped
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup olives (I used black olives)
2 teaspoon oregano
Pinch cayenne
Pinch pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Process all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly mixed. This may require adding additional oil or lemon juice in order to get a consistency that will allow itself to be well blended.

Form into small flat rounds and brown on both sides in an oiled pan over medium heat. They should be warmed throughout but not over cooked.

VEGETABLES
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large zucchini, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 a medium red onion, sliced
1 fresh tomato, sliced

2 cups baby spinach or mixed greens

Combine oil, lemon juice, and salt in a large bag or a bowl, marinate all the vegetables, except for the spinach, for a couple of hours. If youre short on time brush marinade on on vegetables before cooking. Heat grill pan over medium high heat and place vegetables over heat in small enough batches to prevent over crowding. Cook vegetables to your preferred level off softness and set aside until all vegetables are finished grilling.

Cover bottom of individual salad bowls with baby spinach then cover with 1/4 of the grilled vegetables and falafel. Top with hummus or a bit of toasted sesame oil if you like.

Original recipe from The Raw Chef Blog.

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Fig and Bacon Brussles Sprouts

Ive finally found a recipe that makes brussles sprouts delicious.

Actually thats a lie. What this recipe really does is manage to combine figs and bacon cooked together to perfection, the flavor juxtaposition of which is so amazing you forget there is brussels sprouts on the plate as well. Chewy sweet figs coated in salty bacon fat is surprisingly great. Bacon alone makes sprouts edible but this is a whole other league of yum. Dont take my word for it go try it.

Jacob made a variation of this the evening we were baking the chocolate bacon cake and found ourselves with a lot of left over bacon to play with. Those brussles sprouts were swimming in bacony goodness and then ramped up with some fig vinegar. They were good but I wasnt in love with them.

So when I went to cook these sprouts Jacob was a little dubious quipping, “didnt I make this same thing a couple weeks ago?” I defended my recipe choice claiming it would be amazing and totally different while in reality the only reason I was trying this was I had CSA brussel scprouts and wanted an excuse to buy figs. All I was hoping was that I wouldnt fail epically.

The joke was on us both. We started nibbling on the sprouts while waiting for the random curry I was also making to finish. Both of us had the same reaction of stopping to stare at one another wide eyed and a bit impressed. They only got better as the figs had time to get more and more chewy. Then he had the inspired idea to add some apple vinegar which made the sprouts somehow even tastier. I think the slightly sweet fruity vinegar worked out better in the dish than the balsamic vinegar that the original recipe calls for.

Playing in the kitchen with someone who really knows food is amazing fun, but making a professional foodie something that is rewarded with yummy noises and that delighted look of stunned satisfaction is somehow even better. Bacon and figs...who knew?

Fig and Bacon Brussels Sprouts

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces of bacon, chopped
1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 cup dried figs, stemmed and quartered
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Pour oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and cook, stirring occasionally until it starts to crisp, about 8 minutes.

Add sprouts, figs and water to pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then cook undisturbed until sprouts are tender, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and continue to cook until any remaining liquid evaporates.

Add vinegar to taste just before serving.

Original recipe from Mark Bittman in the New York Times.

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Julia Child is a Cruel Mistress

This saucy pile of potatoes covered in fat and oil is so not diet friendly. Not for the Montignac Method, not for anyone. So I wont be posting the recipe here. Its just that after not posting for over a month I needed to get back into the swing of things. And after spending two days cooking this for a friends highly esoteric monk fish roasting party someone needed to see this madness.

So behold Salade Nicoise a la Julia Child. Or as I will be calling it from now on Bitch Salad.

It seems simple enough until youre boiling those potatoes you cant seem to convince your CSA to stop sending you every week, that your friends are sick of you pawning off on them. About then when its too late to turn back you really read the recipe and see it is three recipes hidden in a recipe for a freaking salad. Two different vinaigrettes and a potato salad? Seriously?

My potatoes committed some sort of explosive suicide while I was wire whipping (Julia is kind of kinky, I always thought of it as a whisk) the first vinaigrette. At which point I gave up and went to a wine tasting and thought about not cooking for awhile considering everything Ive tried to make this week was an epic failure.

My spirits were a little higher this afternoon when I skipped out of work half way through the day and gave the potatoes a stern talking to. They werent pretty and were over done but with the other vinaigrette coating them they were plenty tasty. I have to give it to Julia Child she is a huge picky fussbudget but its usually for a reason. That one bite of potato salad was the best Ive ever had and not just because I miss potatoes. It was delicious and subtle, with scallions making up most of the favor instead of the unfortunate cloying German mayonnaise and mustard version that is so popular.

The fun really started when I got to pile massive amounts of random vegetables and fish on the potato and lettuce bed. Im actually surprised at how tasty it looks. Hopefully the carb eaters of the world will enjoy it. If its a disaster after following all of Julias wacky instructions I really might make the fella take over the cooking. The one thing I can say for this recipe is it didnt ask me to taste raw eggs to check the seasoning which was an actual instruction last time I cooked out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Oh that Julia Child shes a character.

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