Six Books, 1 Recipe

I've trying to find some book nirvana lately. I needed something to follow up after a third (fourth?) reading of The Hunger Games, so I decided that I should just stick with dystopian novels. Well, it didn't go so well.

I started with The Road (Cormac McCarthy). I really really liked it, up until the end. We just watched the film version of it on Saturday. I liked the book better than the film, although the film was very well done. Now that I write that, I think I like them both equally. I just did not like the ending. If you haven't read it, I won't ruin it. But the concept, a father and son trying to get somewhere, battling the elements and trying to survive, I really enjoyed.

I ended up getting Fahrenheit 451, which I feel had some ulterior motive. I got the whole fight back against the man, don't burn books, read them, messages. I can see how it was progressive for the time it was written (even if that is a bit snide). But I didn't really go for the story of it. I kind of wish there had been more--more disturbance, more big brother, more conflict.

I also started on Emma, which I have read before, so not much to say there. I think this is my least favorite of Jane Austen. I chose Emma because she is so pretentious, but I forgot how badly she needs to be in control of everything and everyone. I just got annoyed and stopped reading it about 1/3 of the way through. No big deal, I'll return to it after a while. I borrowed the movie version so I'll probably watch that in a week or so and get back to the book.

I am trying to get through 1984 also. I think it's a bit dull. I am intrigued by the conflicts and close-minded to open-minded dynamic going on though. I'm in the middle of it, but I put it down in favor of the book I just finished last night.

Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood) is phenomenal. I didn't really get it at first, but once I got about halfway through, I didn't want to put it down. I love the back story, and although the POV is pretty standard for a dystopian novel, it works really well here. Snowman is the narrator, and he is trying to figure out how he ended up in the situation he is in. I really liked it. I think its going to go on the buy list. I'm really excited to read the sequel. I hope it lives up to the excitement. I don't want to give the story away too much, but man, pick this one up if you like to read about hope and misery and self-reliance and gluttony (of the human condition). Excellent read.

Ok, on to the recipe. I made a truly excellent Vegetable Lasagna last week. I forgot to take nice pictures, so the one that I'm posting is over the leftovers warmed up. I think lasagna is better the day after anyway. :)
There are two fillings, one cheese and one vegetable sauce, plus the noodles. 

 Vegetable Lasagna

Cheese Filling:
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
8 oz. ricotta cheese
2 oz. Parmesan cheese
1 egg
ground pepper (to taste)
salt (to taste)

Vegetable Filling
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8-12 oz. shitake or button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/4-1/3 c. carrots, shredded
1/2 c. onion, diced
1 1/2 - 2 c. frozen spinach
2 - 15 oz. cans finely diced tomatoes
2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. oregano (dried)
2 tsp. basil (dried)
1 tsp. marjoram (dried)

8-10 lasagna noodles, cooked to package directions.

First, mix the cheeses, (about 1/2 mozzarella) egg and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Set aside. 

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. When it is hot, add the mushrooms and onions, and saute until both are golden, and the mushrooms have released some water-- about 5-7 minutes.

Add in the carrots and spinach, and stir around for a minute or two until the spinach is thawed and the carrots are cooked through.

Add the tomatoes, garlic and spices to the vegetable mixture. Stir around, let it bubble and meld together for about 8-10 minutes. You don't want the sauce to reduce too much. Add some pasta water if it looks like it is getting too thick. I usually just simmer the sauce with the lid on at this point.

Prepare your lasagna dish: spoon some of the tomato sauce, with as few veggies as possible onto the bottom and smooth it around. Then layer your noodles. Put half of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles, then 1/3 of the vegetable mixture. Layer the noodles, then the cheese, and then the vegetables. One more layer of noodles, then the last little bits of vegetables, and layer it with the rest of the Mozzarella.

Bake it in a 350 oven for about 30-35 minutes. Don't put foil on top of it unless you think your noodles are under done (the foil will help steam the noodles to done-ness but will make the rest of the lasagna soggy).
Take it out of the oven and wait 10 minutes for it to set. (This is where you put the garlic bread in the oven to cook while you wait, and eat a salad).

Bon appetite!

Hints: if you don't have quite enough sauce, there is no harm in layering noodle, cheese, veggie, noodle cheese, veggie, noodle, mozzarella. I've done this before. Or have an extra jar of spaghetti sauce around just in case. :) Add that to the veggie filling and you will have more than enough!

Micro Greens: A sign of summer

We joined a new CSA over the winter, and a couple weekends ago, there was a meet-up to get the info about what's coming up. I am super excited for fresh, local, organic vegetables this summer--we've both been craving fresh stuff so bad! I'm even considering going out to the farmer's market tomorrow morning to see what was overwintered.

Anyway, one of the bonuses of going to the meet up were some of the goodies--a jar of fresh coffee beans (an add on), a tiny flat of pea shoots, and a container of micro-greens. I gave my mom the pea shoots- since we are splitting the CSA again--but the micro-greens, oh man, they hit the spot. A little taste of whats to come this summer.

Micro greens are the shoots of plants that are harvested before they grow more than 6". The greens are packed with vitamins, which are probably what our sun-starved bodies are craving right now. 

 White Bean Burgers with Oven-Baked Fries--Mark Bittman recipes

Spaghetti with Asparagus, Parmesan & Egg, topped with Micro-greens, recipe from Cheap, Healthy, Good

Wild Rice Omelet with Swiss Cheese and Micro-Greens, recipe below

3 eggs
1-2 Tbsp. skim milk
1 cup cooked wild rice (1/3 c. dry wild rice, 1 c. veggie broth/water--cook like regular rice)
1/4 c. Swiss cheese, shredded or sliced
optional--carrots, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, onion diced
Tomato slices
Micro greens (or spinach, arugula, etc)
Olive oil

Cook wild rice.

Whip up eggs with milk, a little salt and pepper. If using any other veggies, saute in a tiny bit of olive oil or butter, then add to the wild rice.

Pour a tiny amount of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Heat on medium heat until it shimmers. Pour eggs into the pan, and let cook for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Do not touch the eggs, let them set on the bottom.

Carefully insert a silicone spatula underneath the eggs. Let any uncooked egg work its way to the bottom.
Spread the wild rice evenly on one half of the eggs. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the wild rice. Then gently fold the other half of the eggs over the rice. Continue cooking until the cheese is melted. 

Cut into two, and garnish with tomatoes and micro greens. Micro greens could easily be cooked with the rice mixture, but they taste so good fresh!

Breakfast Food

Lazy weekends are best started with breakfast. We take turns making breakfast for each other. Yesterday he made chocolate chip waffles, but today, I went in a totally opposite direction. Baked eggs, home fries and toast--total diner food.

I bought Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian a few weeks ago, and I've been making things out of it constantly. I really like this book--enough recipes are simple for making something quick, and others are complex enough that it is still a challenge, which is great for both of us.

Baked Eggs
2 eggs
butter/oil
shredded cheese (optional)
red pepper, diced (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 375. Lightly grease two ramekins with butter or oil.
2. Break one egg into the ramekin. Top with a little diced red pepper and shredded cheese, to your liking.
3. When the oven is pre-heated, place the ramekins on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
4. It's best to underbake these a tiny bit. My egg was a little overdone at 12 minutes, but still delicious for a first attempt.

The eggs are creamy and smooth and a perfect with toast.

Home Fries
1 large russet potato
1-2 tbsp. cooking oil (I used vegetable)

1. Peel and slice the potato into small slices, 1/8-1/4" thick.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, carefully place the sliced potato in the pan. It will probably spatter a little.
3. Leave the potatoes for 10 minutes. Do not touch them. The goal is to get them browned and crisp. This is the perfect time to get the eggs started..
4. After 10 minutes, the potatoes should be easy to flip over and brown on the other side. Carefully flip the potatoes, stirring them a bit to get the other side golden. After you do this, don't touch them for another 5 minutes.
5. Every five minutes or so, stir the potatoes around, trying to get both sides crispy and golden brown. It will take a while- at least two stirs around the pan.
6. When most of the potatoes are browned, turn the heat up to medium high for a couple minutes--this will get them good and crispy. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on them if you like that. I did, and it was delicious.
7. Divide the potatoes up onto 2 plates, and serve with the baked eggs.

This was a really good breakfast. The only thing I would have changed would be to eat slower--I hate when breakfast takes half an hour to cook and then you are done eating in 10 minutes!

Haha, Mini-Hiatus and some Food

Yeah, so I keep saying I'm going to come back to writing and posting. I really do mean it!

On the job front: Still have a job, still really like it, we are on spring break! I brought home a bunch of work to do and of course, I procrastinate so I haven't done much with it.

On the school front: Taking a class right now, Research Methods--which feels ridiculous but most classes I take seem that way anyway. I have one more meeting and then it's done. I have to finish an assignment for Sunday and I am still procrastinating on that as well.

On the book front: I've read a lot lately--but nothing that has really stuck with me. I've been reading fiction mostly, set around the Tudors, no surprise there--and I haven't found a whole lot out there that is interesting lately. I restarted The Hunger Games in order to be prepped for the movie next weekend. We are going--got my tickets so I'm excited.!

On the food front: Here's where it gets good: we have been eating out quite a bit lately--it is even worse when we both have the day off (in my case spring break, his--a day off of work) so it seems like that means we get to go out and splurge. Two weeks ago we went to my cousin's wedding, and I had the chance to catch up with another cousin, who has made the jump to almost-vegan (my terms). She is very passionate about it, almost to the point where I feel the need to reconsider some of my food habits. Mostly, right now, we've decided that we need to cut down on the snacking and going out.  I've definitely noticed in both the pocketbook and the clothing that we have been splurging a lot lately. We have managed to cut down over the last week though. Tomorrow we are going out with friends, and Sunday we hope to go to a MN Wild game, and after that, back to home cooking and health.

With that said, we did have a fabulous Penne alla Vodka last night. Nothing I would change at all! Here's a pic...

Penne alla Vodka

2 tbsp. olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 c. petite diced tomatoes, drained, reserve juice
1/4 c. vodka
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cream
2 c. penne (dried--about 1/2 a 1 lb. box)


1. Boil some water for the pasta, prep all the ingredients.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for about 1 minute. Don't let the garlic get browned, just try to flavor the oil a bit.
3. Add the drained tomatoes, vodka and salt. It will spatter a bit, so be careful. I added a little of the tomato juice here, and then added the rest with the cream.
4. Stir the tomato mixture around, and let it bubble gently for about 10 minutes. You want the alcohol to cook off.
5. When the water for the pasta is boiling, add in the pasta.
6. To the tomato mixture, add in the cream, tomato juice and stir it around to mix it evenly. Turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer gently until the pasta is done.
7. Serve the pasta with the sauce on top (as pictured) or mix the noodles and sauce together.
8. We really like sauce in our house, so we always have extra. You can easily cook more pasta and have enough sauce for 4 servings.

We had some broccoli that wasn't going to get eaten before it went bad, so I just cut it into florets and steamed it in the microwave. I added a little butter and some freshly ground pepper while it steamed (about 3 minutes).

Recipe adapted a tiny bit from Vegetarian Classics, Jeanne Lemlin

Whoa, what happened?

Life happened!

So, my last post was hopeful about getting back into the swing of things at the beginning of October. Right.

I finished Renaissance Festival on a note--not a high one or a bad one, just a note. I always say that it will be my last season, but I really think I am done with the company I've been working for (the last 9 years). The management changes fairly often, and every year seems to get worse. So, I'm ready for a change to have fun and not be responsible for increasing sales in a market where it's continually worse food and higher prices for less. Yeah, explain that one to me--make more money for less and bad tasting food.

I also started a full-time job teaching at an alternative high school, which I am enjoying quite a bit. I'm not teaching a subject I'm completly familiar with, so figuring out each lesson is a struggle for me. I've been spending a lot of time just trying to learn enough to teach. Argh.

Last--we have decided to buy a house, so we are spending lots of time looking and looking at looking at potential homes and nothing is really feeling right. It's been frustrating so far.

However-- On to the books! I've not had a lot of time to read fun things, but in the last weeks I've finished a few books.
The Princess Series by Jim Hines-- all four

• The Snow Queen's Shadow
• Red Hood's Revenge
• The Stepsister Scheme
• The Mermaid's Madness

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

And a few other books that of course, since I didn't update the blog, I can't remember. The Jim Hines books were ok, I liked the first one (Stepsister Scheme) but the rest didn't really strike me. I liked The Help up until tlhe ending-- I'm not sure why, but it was such a good book and then the end was kind of a let down.

Food--
We've been eating pretty badly the last couple of weeks. We are trying to get back to our normal food, cooking at home and going to the farmer's market. We contemplated the CSA for fall, but in the end we felt that the money would be better spent on saving for a house.

We have had some good meals lately-- we made a mushroom-nut loaf last night that was fantastic, except I baked it a tiny too long and it got a bit dry and crumbly. So no picture of that one. Tonight I'm planning to make a vegetable-corn-cheese chowder in bread bowls, so hopefully that will be yummy.

Happy Reading and Happy Eating!

Wow, Mini-Hiatus

So, I've started a wonderful, full-time job, and have been working part-time on weekends. I apologize for the lack of updates, and as soon as the part-time job ends (Oct 2) we will be back in full swing. I'm hoping to get a couple of CSA posts up soon, but no promises!

Happy Reading and Happy Eating!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I actually finished this book a couple days ago. I've just been busy at my new! job! so it's been hard to do updates on books and foods lately. It kinda sucks, but I should get onto a regular schedule soon!

Anyway, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver) is really an amazing book. A chronicle of growing and eating only local foods for a year. I have been really inspired to continue eating local, and start researching how to preserve some of the great CSA food we have been getting. I want to be able to eat organic all year, but the cost is really hard for me to get over, especially at the grocery store. Living where we do, I feel that having organic and fresh and local in the winter is really hard. We do have winter farmer's markets, but they mostly have meat, and since I (we) don't eat meat, that makes it really difficult.

When we went to the State Fair this weekend, I saw some great books about canning, so I think I'm going to get them from the library to read. I think I'm going to attempt to can the beets that we've gotten. I also think I'm going to freeze the corn, and maybe some of the other foods. The big question I have is about potatoes. I don't know how to get them to keep for a long period of time. I have them in a bowl on the table, but a couple of them started geting rotten, so I don't think that is going to work for the long term!

I did also like how the book had some recipes in there, and also information about resources for eating local. I don't know if I'm going to buy the book immediately, but it's definitely on my wish list.