Applesauce

I've been wanting to make applesauce for years and haven't mustered the guts. My mom even found me an apple smasher on ebay last year, but the whole idea seemed so intimidating. It turns out it's so easy and I'm never going to stop doing it.

I used Spartan apples for this inaugural batch and it's quite tasty. It's going to be a good winter.

My favourite part is how plainly natural it is. Just apples and cinnamon. Mmmmmmmmmm

Bowl  courtesy of Jackie Seton

Fathers Day Bumblebee Cake

Tada!

Summer Dinner

I bought a potted basil plant today and wanted to use it with something, so I just rummaged around the cupboards and fridge until this meal appeared. It's got chick peas, pasta, green beans, spinach, garlic, green onions, parmesan, pepper and olive oil.

The plate was made by the talented Lana Filippone - you can get one at Distill in Toronto, and at Harbourfront come September.

Lasagna Rolls

I saw this idea on thefoodaddicts.com. It's exactly the kind of thing I need - with one devoted carnivore and one strict vegetarian, there are very few meals we can really eat together. But this way, instead of making an entire lasagna that's a compromise for both of us, we can personalize it. I made four rolls: two had spinach and two had ground beef. Same pan, same effort... just brilliant. It was really delicious and actually pretty low-cal if you use low-fat cheese.

You cook your noodles until just soft, then lay them out on a cutting board. Add ricotta cheese, sauce, spinach (or whatever other ingredients), grated old cheddar and mozzarella. Then just roll them up - it's a little slippery. Put them in a baking pan, and top with sauce and cheese. They bake at 400F for around half an hour (or until the cheese is all browned and bubbly).

Before serving, I added some chopped fresh basil.

Beautiful Breakfast

I didn't do anything fancy with this, but I was really excited about it. Just scrambled eggs wth spinach, toast and jam, strawberries, and a coffee in my Scott Barnim mug.

Fajita Burritos!

We had a fun tex mex kind of night! At the grocery store J and I thought about doing tacos, but they're always so much more trouble than they're worth with the crunching and the falling apart.... but soft shells... that's just good sense.

Included is a strange ingredient that I would never serve to anyone. However - it was delicious and I regret nothing. Mine had fake ground beef, taco spices, cheddar cheese, boston lettuce, tomatoes and... um...  .. leftover white KD. Jeremy's was more like a burrito - real ground beef, tomato sauce, cheese, lettuce.

Excellent.

Quinoa and Lentils

 

I set out to make the old family standard Rice and Lentils, but discovered (slightly too late) that there was no usable rice in the house. I did have a package of quinoa that had been waiting for me to muster some courage, so I just subbed it in for the rice. 

It goes like this:

1c.quinoa

1/2c. lentils

1 can cream of mushroom soup (287mL)

1 1/2 cups water

a few green onions

salt and pepper

Empty soup into a medium pot. Add quinoa and lentils, then water. Cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes (ish) or until the liquid is pretty much absorbed. Add chopped green onion, salt and pepper to taste, and let sit covered for 5-10 minutes. Fluff and serve. 

4 Cheese Lasagna with Fake Beef and Spinach

As part of the very slow-moving campaign to become a functioning human, I'm trying to use the things in my home more. I have a coffee maker in full working order, but I never use it and buy my coffee every day instead. No more! It's not hard, and I like using my own mugs. In that spirit, I'm hoping to save some money and be healthier by bringing lunches, making dinners, and all that jazz.

So I made a lasagna. It should last through the week, and as a bonus, I think it'll be something I can bring to a pot luck.




I used 12 no-cook noodles, a big can of pasta sauce, a package of frozen whole leaf spinach, a 475g tub of low-fat ricotta, a 250g thing of cottage cheese, 3/4 of a big brick of mozzarella, grated, a cup or something of parmesan, and about half a package of fake ground beef. Also, some salt and pepper and a little ground basil.
It was in a 9x11 pan.
Just layer, starting with a little sauce and 4 noodles. Then 1/2 of the ricotta, cottage cheese, spinach, and spices (all mixed in advance), then sauce, then mozzarella, then noodles. Repeat! End with: noodles, sauce, parmesan, and top with mozzarella.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes covered with aluminum foil, then 15 more minutes uncovered. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.