Vegetable Lasagna with Basil Cashew Cheese

I give this recipe all the best superlatives. It originally comes from  Oh She Glows blog , which is loaded with excellent food and photos. I tweaked it a bit by adding hot pepper flakes. Killer. !! I am going to put this outstanding Basil Cheese on a pizza soon….. dreaming and drooling. Double Killer!! 

Here’s what you need:

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

2 zucchini, cubed

8 oz. baby bella mushrooms

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large handful spinach

Salt and pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

1 ½ jars marinara sauce

1 box oven ready lasagna noodles (no boil type of noodle…. I love Barilla brand)

1 recipe Basil Cashew Cheese (see below)

1 ½ C non-dairy cheese (Daiya Shreds or Go Veggie Cheese)

Here’s what you need for the Basil Cashew Cheese:

1 c raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

¼ C vegetable broth or water (or more as needed)

¼ C lemon juice

½ C nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper

1 T Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves

1 ½ C fresh basil, loosely packed

Here’s what you do:

Soak the cashews in water for at least 30 minutes. Drain them. Place all the ingredients for the Lemon Basil Cheese in a high powered blender (like a Vitamix) and watch what happens! Amazing! I had to add a bit of water to help it along. Set aside.

Saute the onions in a bit of oil until soft but not brown. Add the garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper and red pepper flakes. Saute the huge amount of veggies till nice and tender. Be sure to season them liberally with salt and pepper. When they are ready, add a big handful of fresh spinach and cook for about 5 more minutes.

I split my lasagna into two pans: one for dinner and one for the freezer. 

To assemble the lasagna: Pour about ½ C sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Layer uncooked noodles over sauce. Spread basil cashew cheese over the noodles. Spoon ½ of veggie mixture over noodles. Pour more sauce over veggies. Repeat, being sure to end with sauce. Make sure the sauce is tucked down in and around the noodles.  End with a layer of non-dairy cheese. I used Go Veggie brand and it was super.

Cover with foil, make a few vents in the foil with a sharp knife, bake for 40-45 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Remove foil and broil for a few minutes, watching carefully. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before slicing.

(printable recipe) 

Double Mushroom Quiche with Oatmeal Crust

Hello dear readers, 

In full disclosure, I want to mention that I am re-posting this recipe (Yes, I know that is blogging rule #1....NEVER re-post anything). But there is a good reason.... at the time of my original plans for this post, I was itching to change up the look of my blog, you know, experiment with all the cool stuff hidden in the 'layout' buttons on the margin of blogger.....well, I really went crazy with my updates, changing my blog so much that I actually got emails (more than a few) asking what was going on!  In the process, this lovely recipe was lost....so, if it seems like you may have read this before, you're not crazy! You have!  Since then, I have decided that the regular old layout is just fine for me. Please enjoy this one. 

As I’ve written here before, I am not a vegetarian, but I could easily be one because I am crazy for vegetarian meals. I have also confessed my obsession with mushrooms (click here for a shocking MUSHROOM  pizza.) So when a recipe calls for 8 ounces of mushrooms, I confidently round that up to 16 ounces.

You might find this crust to be a bit tricky, but it’s worth it. Use a Cuisinart and scrape all the moisture from the butter and the buttermilk from the corners of the bowl. Don’t over-process and roll it out only to 10 inches (use a measuring tape.) Another trick, be certain to use a 9 inch pan… not 9.5 and certainly not 10!

Enjoy this beautiful quiche and let me know if you can handle all those glorious mushrooms!

Here’s what you need for the crust:

¾ C rolled oats

½ C all-purpose flour

¼ t salt

3 T cold butter, cut in small squares

3 T cold low-fat buttermilk

Here’s what you need for the fililng:

3 t olive oil

1 large onion, sliced into thin rounds

16 ounces mushrooms – I used baby portabellas from the grocery store and regular button mushrooms from the back of my fridge.

½ t salt

Ground black pepper to taste

¼ t dry mustard

½ t dried thyme (or less if you’re not a thyme lover)

3 large eggs

3 egg whites

1 C fat-free evaporated milk (evaporated, not condensed)

2/3 C Gruyere cheese (or Swiss or Jarlsberg or Cheddar or Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack or Mozzeralla or even smoked Gouda)

 Here’s what you do: There are a lot of steps…..

Process the oats and flour for a few seconds, add the cubed butter and pulse until it looks like wet sand. Add the buttermilk and pulse for about a dozen times, until it looks like dough. Using a knife, scrape any moisture stuck in the corners of the bowl and re-pulse.

Remove dough to wax paper and form it into a ball. Place more wax paper over it and roll to 10 inch circle. 

Remove the top sheet of wax paper, and using the bottom sheet of wax paper, carefully, carefully place the dough into a prepared pie plate. (prepared means sprayed…. ) Bake at 400 degrees for about 9 minutes.

Meanwhile 

1. Sauté the onions slowly until nice and brown. 

2. Remove them and sauté the mushrooms. 

3. Mix together all the onions, mushrooms, spices.

4. Whip the eggs, egg whites and milk together 

5. Grate the cheese.

To assemble: Cheese first, then veggies, then slowly pour the egg mixture over – it’s OK if it escapes the confines of the crust.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until the middle is set and almost firm. Serve with something green. Potatoes would have been a nice go-with also. 

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago: Baked Chicken with Wild Rice and Tarragon
(from the Mayo Clinic)

OneYear Ago: Lemon Fettuccini 

Chickpea Burgers: don’t say “yucky” until you’ve tried it!

I am on a tiny quest to find a great, and I mean GREAT, veggie burger. A while back I posted a fantastic black bean burger, compliments of my sister. We have been eating that one quite a bit. It’s a super easy recipe, and the best part? You must freeze them before you cook them so it’s easy to whip up a batch and keep them in the freezer for a quick dinner or lunch.

Last month I tried a lentil-walnut burger which tasted great, but totally fell apart in the bun. I haven’t posted that recipe (check out my favorite cookbook –The Moosewood Cookbook- to see it), because I only give it a C- in the ‘bun-worthy’ category. Kinda turned out like a lentil-walnut casserole with ketchup and mustard on top…..all served on a crumbled bun….  sounds worse than it was, but really, a burger must be eaten in a bun with two hands!

I know there are lentil-olive burger recipes out there, but to date, I haven’t found one….can you advise?

I’ve eaten lots of those ‘veggie’ burgers (they’re mostly soy) from the freezer section in the grocery store and this past weekend we even splurged on a frozen quinoa burger from the health food store – which was pretty darn good in my estimation – bun worthy and all. Hubby didn’t like it much though…..

Today I share a creation using the humble chick pea. The flavor was super!!! The ‘bun worthy’ factor was not an issue, cuz I wised up and used PITA BREAD!! An excellent solution I must admit! These were great! And they made awesome leftovers for lunch the next few days. As you may know, I like a hot lunch and leftovers are the key. Try ‘em – you’ll like ‘em! And stop saying, “Yucky.”

Here’s what you need:

1 C chopped onions

1 C chopped celery

Salt, pepper

15 ounce can chick peas (garbanzo beans, I think they are called also)

2-3 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons of each: Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Balsamic vinegar and dried thyme

2 C cooked brown rice

¾ - 1 C oats

Here’s what you do:

Take the scary old onions from the back of the fridge (Don’t judge me!! ) and chop them up. Sautee them with some celery. Salt and pepper to taste.

Best trick ever: Drop the whole garlic cloves in a whirling blender to get the best ever minced garlic! Add the chick peas, sauces and spices and whirl until a mush.

Add the deliciously sautéed veggies and whirl until another mush.

Add ½ of the rice and continue to whirl.

In a big bowl add the remaining rice and the oats. Make a judgment about how much oatmeal to add- you want it firm, but not dry. Moist, but not wet….. They’re vegetables! Don’t fret!  Let them rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes – helps them firm up.

Form into patties, dredge in flour (or skip this step) and fry.

If you have the guts, fry them next to your son's dinner - two juicy and great smelling beef burgers. Poor kid.....

Serve in pita bread to avoid the dreaded C- in the ‘bun worthy’ category.  The flavor of this burger easily stood up to all the usual burger toppings – lettuce, tomato, condiments, etc. Enjoy this one!

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago: Spice Rack Challenge: Coriander: Bulgar Salad

One Year Ago: Basic Onion Pie: (a horrible picture, but one of my favorite onion recipes)

Oatmeal Bake

Dear Readers, Can you handle two oatmeal recipes in a row? I think so!

OK people. Admit it. We all need to eat healthier. More kale. More nuts and seeds. More whole grains. sigh…… , but it’s not easy with all the sugary, fatty foods surrounding us. That cholesterol number is looming over our heads like a heavy cloud. And don’t forget about the blood pressure number….. sigh…. talk about stress!!!

Well, I’m one of the lucky people who LOVE kale, nuts, seeds and whole grains. Bring on the leafy greens! I think recently I mentioned that I am leaning more and more toward an entirely vegetarian diet and could probably even dip into the vegan world. Now, please don’t cancel your subscription to my blog just because of this news. Eating green stuff doesn’t mean you must wear tie-dye and dread locks. In fact, I’m not even sure what dread locks are or how to spell it….. dread……dred…... don’t ask me! I just know what tastes good and oatmeal is right on the top of my list.

I love old fashioned oatmeal with a big scoop of dark brown sugar and a tablespoon or so of coconut oil for breakfast….. OMG. Add in some fresh fruit and I am a happy girl.

Please try this and let me know what you think. You will be surprised at how delicious and easy it is. It’s kinda like a wholesome, chewy, chocolaty, healthy granola bar on a plate.

This recipe comes from a vegan blog I follow, Vegan Fazool. See the original recipe here.

Here’s what you need:

1 ¾ C old fashioned oatmeal

¼ C white sugar (you can use less here)

¼ C brown sugar

¼ C chopped walnuts

¼ C sliced almonds

¼ dried cranberries or raisins (here in Michigan we are blessed with an abundance of dried cherries, use ‘em if you have ‘em!)

¼ C – ½ C chocolate chips (original recipe calls for vegan chips, but I use regular ones)

1 ¼ t baking powder

½ t salt

½ t cinnamon

3 T ground flaxseed whisked with 4 T water (this is the vegan equivalent of an egg, I believe)

½ C non-dairy milk (We love Silk. You could use almond milk or any of the many varieties of non-dairy milk out there.)

¼ C applesauce (You may use ¼ C oil here, but it’s nice to keep it low-fat. Any combo of oil and applesauce will work, as long as it measures ¼ C)

½ t vanilla

Here’s what you do:

Whisk the flaxseed and water together and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Combine the dry ingredients…. Oatmeal through cinnamon.

Add the wet ingredients to the flaxseed mixture and mix well.

Add the wet and dry stuff together and mix well. It will be pretty wet, but that’s OK. Pour into a 8x8 baking dish which has been sprayed with Pam. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

(printable recipe)

Pumpkin Granola: Yes, I still have canned pumpkin!

Homemade granola is ridiculously easy to make at home, just takes the tiniest bit of time and effort. And the bonus? Great taste. It’s better for you too. This one is better for you at least; whole grain oatmeal, flax seed, pumpkin and almonds. Gotta steer clear of those granola recipes laden with oils and sugars.   Just take a second and read the calorie count on store bought granola and I bet I will convince you to try making it at home. This ones earns a 'heart-healthy' tag from me! 

And although it tastes great, you shouldn’t be adding chocolate chips to your so-called ‘healthy’ stuff--although I’ve been known to add a chip or two to my oatmeal. In fact, my next post is going to be a super healthy oatmeal breakfast bake with nuts, dried fruit, flax seed and yes, chocolate chips. Stay tuned.

How to eat granola? Sprinkled on yogurt or over ice cream, in a bowl with milk, or straight (my personal favorite). I actually have a tupperware of this stuff in the closet in my classroom as I write this. I love a good mid-morning snack!  You should see me shovel the stuff down. I do feel a tiny bit guilty as my students open their tiny packets of cookies and pop tarts while I dig in to my homemade goodness, but hey, I share.

This recipe comes from Liv Life. Check out the recipe here.

Here’s what you need: (do NOT let the long list scare you away!)

2 ½ C rolled oats

3 T flaxseed meal (I’m starting to use this stuff all time lately, just sprinkle it on where it seems tasty. I actually add it to smoothies and my morning oatmeal.)

1 handful whole raw almonds

¾ t cinnamon

1/8 t nutmeg

1/8 t ginger

Pinch cloves

Pinch allspice

½ t sea salt (original recipe called for ¼ t salt)

1/3 C brown sugar

¼ C pumpkin puree (regular readers know my fondness for canned pumpkin!)

2-3 T corn oil (original recipe called for grape seed oil, which I don’t have)

2-3 T maple syrup (a secret ingredients to lots of stuff – don’t skimp here)

½ t vanilla

You add these in at the end:

1 handful dried cranberries

2-3 T salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds – so yum!)

Here’s what you do:

Mix the oatmeal, flaxseed, almonds,  cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and salt in a big bowl. Whisk together the brown sugar, pumpkin, oil, syrup and vanilla. Mix it all together. Pour out onto a baking sheet which has been lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Stir. Bake 10 more. Stir. Bake 10 more. Stir. Allow to cool. Simple, right? When the granola has cooled down, add the cranberries and pepitas.

Your house will smell great – think Thanksgiving and Christmas and sitting by a roaring fire all rolled into one. 

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago: Lemon Chicken

One Year Ago: Buckwheat Pancakes

One Year Ago: Chocolate Flan

Baked Fish – Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Not a fish eater? You don’t know what you are missing (I apologize if I sound like your mother....) I predict you just might change your mind after tasting this. (Again, I apologize if I sound like your mother....)  This was A+ Excellent! You can find the original recipe here. Other Food Revolution recipes I have made are found here. 

Here’s what you need:

3 cloves garlic

Fresh basil

1 T olive oil

1 jalapeno or Serrano chili

28 ounce can diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper

1 T red wine vinegar

4 x 5 ounce white fish filets, such as cod or sea bass – skin off and bones removed

¼ C good quality Greek black olives, pits removed. 

Here's what you do: 

Start by cooking the garlic and pepper in some olive oil. Cut a slit in the pepper to get some of the spicy goodness out of it and into your sauce. 

Add the tomatoes, smash it all together, being sure to get the juice out from the pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar to give it a boost. 

Snuggle the fish down in the sauce - I was lucky enough to have fresh white fish here, but any mild fish would be nice - not salmon.... Sprinkle on the basil and olives. (It actually looks like I may have used parsley.... these photos are from a while ago.... whatever...)

Put the whole thing in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the fish is done - Don't over cook it! Serve with pride - it's a thing of beauty. 

Chicken and Asparagus with Penne Pasta

In June I posted my first recipe from the Mayo Clinic web site: Baked Chicken with Wild Rice, Onion and Tarragon. It was an A+. Today I offer my second from the same web site: Chicken with Asparagus and Penne Pasta.  Another A+.

This was a super quick meal after a long day at work; pasta is the quintessential comfort food in our house. Can you believe that this amount equals 4 portions???? That’s crazy!! I guess when you cut out fat and calories, you can beef up the serving amount. Try this; you’ll be impressed by how flavorful and satisfying it is.

I followed the recipe to the letter, except for two changes. One: I added hot pepper flakes when browning the chicken. Two: I used 1 T of olive oil instead of spraying the pan (I don’t like to spray my cast iron skillet) Oh, and a third change: I used Feta instead of goat cheese.

Here’s what you need for four huge portions:

3 C penne pasta (I used wheat pasta)

2 C chopped asparagus

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 cloves garlic ( I used lots more)

Hot pepper flakes to taste (we like lots…. Maybe 1 teaspoon)

2 cans (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes including juice

2 ounces Feta cheese - crumbled

2 T Parmesan for serving

Here’s what you do:

Cook pasta according to package. Set aside. Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces and steam just until fork tender. Set aside. 

Heat 1 T olive oil (I measured my oil so I didn’t go overboard) in a skillet, add garlic, hot pepper flakes and chicken. Cook until chicken is tender, but not dried out.

Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes more.

In a large bowl combine the pasta, asparagus, tomato and chicken mixture and the 2 ounces of Feta. Mix well.  I also added about ¼ C of the pasta water, but it really didn’t need it. Serve with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.  Great leftovers for lunch.

Salmon Fish Cakes - Food Revolution

It was pretty hilarious. The day that I made these for dinner, I had the TV on and I was listening to an old Julia Child program on the DVR. She was making a classic fish chowder…. of course, just for fun she pronounced it ‘cha-dah.’  (like about 100 times) She actually made the fish broth using about 10 different types of fish – the bones, skin, heads, fins…… she recommended leaving the eyeballs in for extra flavor….. ugh.

If you have seen this episode, then you know she chops this fish in two with the BIGGEST knife on Earth! She had such gusto!  (Have you seen the episode when she cuts up a chicken with a sword? Classic.)

The funniest part of the show is when Julia says, “If you have good relations with your fish monger you can have him prepare the fish for you.” Good relations? Am I the only person who thinks that is hilarious? 

These Salmon Fish Cakes are excellent.  See Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution website here for the recipe.  


Here's basically what you do:

Gather potatoes, salmon, parsley, and and egg. I used fresh salmon, with the skin and bones carefully removed. 

Follow Jamie Oliver's advice and steam the salmon in a colander over a pot where you are gently boiling the potatoes. I thought it was very strange, but it worked perfectly. 

See how beautiful the salmon is? Since you will be frying the patties later, it does not need to be overly cooked at this point.

Mash the potatoes. Add the salmon, egg and parsley.

Form the mixture into a round and divide into serving size patties. I doubled the recipe from what was suggested. 

Dust the patties with flour. Fry in a bit of oil until nicely golden and crisp on both sides. 

These were excellent! 

(no printable recipe today, simple click here to see the original recipe on the Food Revolution site)

One Year Ago: Mom's Minestrone (easy and perfect for a quick meal)