Winter Warmer Veggie Lasagna

We're weeks away from spring, so there's only one way to enjoy the last few days of chilly weather: Carb Load.

I made this a few weeks ago at Wolison's for a few reasons:
1. I don't have a lasagna tray
2. It was another slushy, cold day and we both needed something that would stick to our ribs (she more than I, as she's training for a marathon. I'm just training for maternity wear.)
3. ALev told me that morning she was making lasagna in Atlanta, and it really tempted my palette.

I didn't have time to find a recipe because Wolison told me she had an 8:45 bedtime, so I just got the no-boil pasta from Trader Joe's and winged it.

Ingredients:
1 box no boil pasta
1 small tub of ricotta cheese
1/2 bag frozen spinach, thawed
grilled eggplant and zucchini (i took some help and got this from the frozen section, but you could certainly break out the old Forman and grill your own veggies).
1 package Mozzarella cheese (do yourself a favor, and don't get low-fat. If you're being bad, go all.the.way--there's a certain couple whose name rhymes with Fauers I'm talking to.)
1 jar of marinara sauce (or any tomato sauce you prefer)
1 package baby Portabello mushrooms, washed, chopped, sauteed in olive oil.
1/2 cup grated Parmesan for the top.

Prep (this is real loose, so i'm going to write it that way):
--saute the mushrooms in olive oil
--mix the spinach with the ricotta (eyeball it, but I just did equal parts)
--thaw or grill veggies

Layers:
Bottom of the dish: thin coat of marinara sauce
Layer 1: Pasta, 1/4 of sauce jar, grilled eggplant and zucchini. Thin layer of grated Mozzarella.
Layer 2: Pasta, spinach mixed equal parts with Ricotta cheese. More sauce.
Layer 3: Pasta, sauteed baby portabello mushrooms, remainder of sauce, remainder of grated mozzerella, a couple handfuls of grated Parmesan. Maybe some black pepper on top.

Baked in the oven for 45 minutes at 375 degrees, and voila--this is what it looks like inside:


Warning: Elastic waist pants may be necessary after consumption.

I'm not alone

Alice Waters Will Not Abide Anyone's Love for Iceberg Lettuce

Photo: Courtesy Amazon

From NYmag.com:

"In a new memoir by Times staffer Kim Severson, there's a story in which Alice Waters schools her friend and mentor Marion Cunningham, who admits to being a fan of iceberg lettuce. As SFoodie reports, Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life recounts the life lessons the former Chron food writer learned from a group of female cooks, including Waters, Cunningham, Rachael Ray, and Ruth Reichl. We suppose the lesson from Waters goes something like, 'Don't be afraid to judge your friends, or to mail them a box of crunchy heirloom lettuces from France in order to shame them out of their plebeian tastes.' The book is out on April 15th."

From: http://sanfrancisco.grubstreet.com/2010/03/alice_waters_cannot_abide_iceb.html

If you think sardines are disgusting, I think you're disgusting

Welcome back! There are several excuses for my absence (new job*, move 1, move 2, move 3, The Office marathons and the new Vampire Weekend album), but you'll be relieved to know that I live and breathe and occasionally cook. I'm still getting my new kitchen warmed up for some unbelievable culinary masterpieces, so until then, I'll share some low-impact meals I've recently enjoyed.

Sardines on the half shell
I don't want to hear from you that sardines are disgusting. They are a delicacy. A del-i-ca-cy. (Esther, back me up). This is what we call a delicate lunch where I'm from:
1. buy boneless, skinless sardiness in a tin from any local supermarket

2. toast your best bread.
3. mash sardines over top of bread and squeeze A TON of lemon juice (at least a table spoon per half slice of bread).
4. align thinly sliced onions on top
5. enjoy.

And to go with it, we have a simple little salad you can serve as a side to anything fishy. I like to call this:

Don't you wish it was Spring Salad
No real measurements on this one, just eyeball it to your own preference.


Ingredients are:
chickpeas
cucumber diced
grape tomatoes halved
calamata olives chopped
lemon juice
olive oil
salt
black pepper
Mix together and serve.

And finally, a relatively inexpensive organic wine that I found to be worthy of purchase, when cost to taste ratio was measured:

Stay warm!

*This post brought to you by snow day.