Roasted Eggplant and Mushroom Lasagna

I'm trying to up my vegetarian meals game. I make lasagna fairly regularly, and the vegetarian version is usually spinach. I decided I needed a refresh. 

Notes: If you're in a hurry, just use your favorite jarred sauce. But if you have the time, the homemade version is easy to do!

Maybe you're surprised by the appearance of mint on the herbs list? You shouldn't be! Mint is under-used in savory dishes and it goes great with eggplant.

I used to think that you had boil lasagna noodles like you boiled other pasta, but really there's no need. You just need them to be pliable. If you cook them all the way, you lose the texture when you put them in the oven. It's also way harder to layer them when you need to assemble everything---they just fall apart. 

I know those no-boil lasagna noodles are all the rage, but honestly? They aren't very good. They don't stand up to a hearty lasagna. And they have a weird taste.

Lasagna is a great make-ahead dish. You can roast the veggies and put the ricotta mixture together earlier in the day and just keep them in the fridge until dinner time. I'd take them out while your pasta water is coming to a boil so that they're closer to room temperature. You can also assemble the whole lasagna and put the baking dish in the fridge! Make sure you let it sit out for 30 minutes before you put it in the hot oven.  

Ingredients: 

1 normal-sized eggplant

1 package of mushrooms (white or baby bella)

1 small onion

1 15 oz. package of ricotta

1 mozzarella ball

Approx. 28 oz of marinara sauce (homemade recipe to follow)

1 egg

1 box of lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons each of chopped fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, fresh mint

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions: Heat the oven to 400. 

Start with your marina sauce if you're making your own (recipe follows). If not, roast your vegetables. De-stem the mushrooms and slice them. Dice the eggplant in 1-inch pieces. Slice the onion thick. Put everything on a sheet tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast them for 15-20 minutes until soft and starting to brown. Set aside and drop the oven temperature down to 375.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and then add the ricotta and fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Stir everything together until well combined. Put the bowl in the fridge while you do other things. 

In a large pot, bring water to just below a boil. Add salt and then put in your lasagna noodles. Let them cook until they're pliable, use tongs to gently separate them in the pot. Slice your mozzarella ball (keep the slices kind of thin).

When the noodles are done, ladle about a cup of marinara sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Put four noodles in the dish. Top them with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Top that with 1/3 of the eggplant mixture. Top with another cup of sauce. Repeat the layers until the veggies and ricotta are used up. Put four noodles on top and pour the remaining sauce over them. Put slices of mozzarella on top. 

Cover with foil and bake for between 30-40 minutes until it's all bubbly and the noodles have expanded. Take the foil off and bake for 5-10 more minutes until the mozzarella starts to brown. Remove from the oven and wait about 7-10 minutes before you cut into it. Serve and enjoy!

Easy marina sauce

Ingredients: 

1 small onion

5-6 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons each of chopped fresh basil, fresh oregano, fresh parsley

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons of tomato paste

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions: In a skillet or sauce pan on medium, sauté the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil until it's tender and starting to brown (about 10-15 minutes). Add in the garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir. Add in the herbs and pour in the crushed tomatoes. Stir everything together. If it looks a little thick, add just a bit of water. Turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, for as long as you have--the longer the better. 

Grilled Summer Corn Pasta Salad

Let's not even joke about how long it's been since I posted a recipe here. 

I'll be honest: I love cooking, but I hate writing recipes. I'm imprecise, I don't follow directions, I make things up as I go, and I don't write anything down. Any recipe I create is an after-the-fact best guess at what I actually did in the kitchen. Also, I can't take pretty food pictures. 

All that said, I'm on sabbatical this year, and in a brief fit of madness, I thought "Hey, what if I dust off the cooking blog?" Scott thought it was a good idea. "You're happier when you have a project in the summer," he said. He is, of course, correct. 

So, I bring you a solution to a common summer cooking problem, namely convincing yourself to cook when it's hot. Pasta salad is a perfect remedy for this. First of all, you serve it cold, so it's refreshing. Second, because it has to chill in the fridge, you can make it in the morning when it's not so hot (that's what I did today). 

Notes: If you don't have a grill or a grill pan, you can just wrap your corn in some foil and bake it in the oven (at 400 for 20 minutes or so), but you won't get the delightful char flavor. 

Sub out the romaine for your favorite greens. I would just make sure it's something sort of light, like a baby spinach. Arugula would be good too, but it would be a stronger flavor.

If you want your mint and lemon to have a stronger presence in the dish, wait and add them to the pasta at the same time you add the greens.

Ingredients:

1 box dried, short pasta (elbows, shells, bowties)

1 package of baby romaine (10 or 12 oz)

4 ears of fresh corn

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter

1 small bunch fresh mint 

1 lemon

1 teaspoon dried dill

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

Start with your corn: if you're using a grill, heat it to medium. Put the shucked ears directly on the grill. Grill for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Put aside and let them cool a little. 

While the ears are cooling, start your pasta. 

While the water is boiling, heat oil and butter in a small pan over medium-low. Add in dill, onion powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Zest your lemon and add the zest to the oil mixture. Squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture. Once everything is heated through, turn off the heat. Allow to cool slightly. 

Once the oil mixture cools, add in your chopped mint leaves. Swirl everything around and let the mixture sit until the pasta is done. 

While the pasta cooks, give your greens a rough chop. Strip the kernels of corn off the cob by standing the ears upright in a large bowl and running your knife down the cob. The kernels will fall into the bowl.  

Once the pasta is finished, drain it and then return it to the pot on the stove (turn the heat off). Pour the oil over it and add the corn. Stir everything together. Allow the pasta to cool a bit (about five to ten minutes). Just leave it in the pot and stir it occasionally. If it starts to look dry and sticky, drizzle a little more olive oil over it. Add the chopped greens and stir until the greens wilt. Once you've mixed everything, give it a taste to check for seasoning (you might need to add some salt). Transfer everything to a large container and then chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Serve cold and enjoy!

Spinach Stuffed Shells

I make lasagna often, but stuffed pasta less so. I had planned to make a spinach lasagna this weekend, but I was reading something online and someone mentioned stuffed shells. I thought, have I ever even made stuffed shells? I think this is actually the first time. It definitely won't be the last.

Notes: I might leave the mozzarella cheese off next time. I think it might over power the spinach/ricotta a bit.

I would use a thicker sauce for this. I used one that was a bit thin and most of it sank to the bottom of the baking dish.

You can mix the spinach and ricotta ahead of time and leave in the fridge until you're ready to assemble everything.

Be careful not to boil the shells too long. They'll finish cooking in the oven. You don't want them to fall apart on you while you're trying to fill them.

Ingredients:
1 box of jumbo shells pasta
1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese.
1 ball fresh mozzarella
1/2 a bunch of fresh parsley
3-4 cups baby spinach
2-3 garlic cloves
1 egg
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat the oven to 400.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the shells to al dente according to the directions.

While the oven is heating and the water is boiling, chop the spinach and parsley. Mince the garlic. Beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add in the spinach, parsley, garlic, and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.

When the shells are done, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon or something that helps you drain the water off. Put them on a baking oiled sheet to cool slightly.

Pour some of your marinara sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Fill each shell with the ricotta mixture (they hold about a large teaspoon of filling). Place them opening-side up in the baking dish. Slice the fresh mozzarella and lay the slices on top of the pasta.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Bacon and Spinach Baked Ziti

This is a thing of beauty, my friends. Baked ziti is good all by itself, but add in some bacon and spinach? You get baked pasta magic!

Notes: This is just plain delicious. You should make it ASAP.

I added a little less cheese than baked ziti usually has. I just used one ball of mozzarella instead of it plus ricotta cheese. I thought it was just the right amount of cheese and it made the dish not so heavy.

If you wanted to do a lot of this ahead, you could. Assemble the whole thing (minus the bacon on top) and put it in the fridge. Store the crumbled bacon in the fridge separately. All you have to do is take the ziti out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to bake it. Take the crumbled bacon out at the same time.

Ingredients:
1 box penne or ziti pasta
1 26 oz jar of your favorite sauce (I used arrabbiata)
6 slices of bacon
10-12 oz. of spinach (I used 2 bags of the pre-washed kind)
2 shallots or 1 small onion
6-7 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of dried Italian herb mix
1 ball fresh mozzarella
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat the oven to 375.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high and add the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, mince the garlic and dice the shallots. Fill a stock pot with water and heat on high. When the bacon is crisp, remove and drain on a paper towel.

Add in the onions and garlic to the bacon fat. Season with salt, pepper, and herb mix, and cook until tender. Add in the spinach and toss until wilted. Crumble two of the strips of bacon and add them to the pan. Pour in the sauce, stir to combine, and turn the heat back to medium-low.

When the water boils, add a small handful of salt. Add the pasta and cook to al dente (follow the directions on the box).

While the pasta is cooking, cut the mozzarella ball in half. Dice half of it and thinly slice the other half.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir. Add in the diced mozzarella and stir again.

Pour the pasta into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with the sliced mozzarella and baked uncovered for 25 minutes.

Crumble the rest of the bacon and sprinkle it on top of pasta. Put back in the oven for just a minute to warm up the bacon. Serve and enjoy!

Orzo Stuffed Tomatoes

It's summer time and that means tomatoes are in season. And that means you need a recipe that features tomatoes prominently!

Notes: Truthfully, the tomatoes I used were not quite ripe. But that's better. You need some that are a little sturdier to stand up to baking. Since you bake them, the oven develops their flavor, so you don't have to worry about how they taste.

On the subject, I wouldn't use fancy tomatoes for this dish unless you're making it for company. Heirloom tomatoes would be impressive and delicious, but they're also a bit pricy. It's a little more economical to use your run-of-the-mill tomatoes. Again, the baking makes them taste more tomato-y.

The goat cheese makes this dish! You can see from the photo I baked some without (for Scott, who is a philistine and doesn't like goat cheese), but they are really much better with it than without it. Don't skimp on it!

Ingredients:
8 medium-large tomatoes
1 box orzo pasta
1 bag (about 2 cups) baby spinach
1 batch homemade pesto
4 oz. of goat cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat oven to 400.

Boil the pasta according to the directions. While you're waiting for the water to boil and pasta to cook, scoop the innards out of the tomato. Use a small knife to cut the membranes away from the inside of the tomato and then use a spoon to scoop them out. Season the insides with salt and pepper and place in an oiled baking dish. Roughly chop the spinach.

When the pasta is finished, drain it and return it to the pot. Add pesto and baby spinach and stir until the orzo is coated with the pesto and the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the orzo into the tomatoes and top with goat cheese.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the goat cheese just begins to brown.

Enjoy!

Q.E.D.: Pasta with Peas and Mozzarella

Sometimes great things happen when you make a mistake.

I had planned to make one of my staple dishes for dinner: pasta with a vegetable and an olive oil and herb sauce. I like a healthy sprinkle of parmesan on this dish, but I was out, so I sent Scott to the store to get it.

That didn't quite work out. Scott, who doesn't have a ton of culinary knowledge, got mixed up and brought home mozzarella instead of parmesan. No matter, I thought, I'll figure out a way to use the mozzarella. The only think I could think to try was to chop it up and add it to my dish.

Well, it turned out great! The mozzarella melts just a little and it provides a great mix of textures with the peas.

Notes: I added the the mozzarella to the pasta after I put it in the serving dish. Dice the mozzarella and keep in a separate container so that you can add it to the individual servings of pasta. If you add it to the dish as a whole, it won't heat up the same if you have leftovers. If you don't plan to have leftovers, then you can add the cheese to the pot when the pasta is finished.

Ingredients:
1 box elbow or shell pasta
1/3-1/2 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter (optional)
5-6 cloves of garlic
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 tablespoon Italian herb blend
1/2 tablespoon basil
Fresh mozzarella
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a small handful of kosher salt. Cook the box of pasta according to the directions.

Mince the garlic. Add olive oil, butter, herbs, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to a small pan. Heat the mixture on medium low while the pasta cooks.

Dice the mozzarella.

When the pasta has about 2 minutes left to cook, add the peas. When it's finished cooking, drain and return to the pot. Pour the oil mixture over the pasta and peas. Stir to coat throughly. Put the pasta in the serving dish and add pieces of mozzarella. Stir gently. Enjoy!

Fall Lasagna

I usually refer to the season between summer and winter as "fall," but the word "autumn" has a nice sound. I particularly like it because when you make it an adjective, it becomes "autumnal." I thought about calling this dish "autumnal lasagna" but I thought it was too much of a mouthful. Luckily, the dish itself isn't!

Notes: There are two important tips to remember. First, slice thinly. The sprouts and squash have to cook through in the lasagna. Second, pull everything out of the fridge with enough time for it to come to room temperature. Room temperature = more even baking.

I'm not a huge fan of the combination of tomatoes and squash, so I decided to make a bechamel sauce to combine with my marinara. If you're pressed for time or don't are for bechamel, you can skip that step.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 small bunch brussel sprouts
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
26 oz. marinara sauce
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 small  or 1 large fresh mozzarella balls
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 bunch fresh sage
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until it forms a smooth paste. While whisking, pour in milk. Whisk until thickened. Add in the marinara and stir together. Remove from heat and set aside.

Peel the squash. Slice it in half and scoop out the seeds. Thinly slice it. Mince the garlic and sage. Use a mandolin or sharp knife and slice the brussel sprouts as thinly as possible. In a large bowl, combine the slices sprouts with oil, half the sage, and syrup. Season with salt and pepper.

In another bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with minced garlic and other half of the sage.

In a 9x13 baking dish, add 1 cup of marinara sauce. Layer 4 noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, one layer of sliced squash, and 1/3 of brussel sprouts. Top with another cup of sauce and repeat the layers two more times. Add the last layer of noodles and top with the remaining sauce. Slice the mozzarella and lay it on top.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Q.E.D.: Aglio e Olio with Arugula

Back in college, I tried the Atkins diet for about 48 hours. Going cold turkey on carbs made me feel terrible. I decided then and there that no amount of weight loss was worth feeling that bad. So I happily went back to my bread and pasta.

Next time you get the urge to try a fad diet that asks you to eat only one thing, just don't. There's no magic food to get you healthy or make you lose weight. Getting healthy isn't the product; it's the process. It isn't something you achieve and then sit back and enjoy, like building a deck or washing a car. It's more like gardening: you never quit gardening. Sometimes its easier and sometimes it's harder, but it's something you have to commit to doing.

Healthy living means a balanced diet, not a perfect diet. So, don't give up the carbs. Just don't eat only carbs.

Notes: This dish is light on effort and big on flavor. Traditional aglio e oilo ("garlic and oil") doesn't have any greens, but (going back to the balanced diet thing) I needed some greens. Arugula is a great complement to the spicy garlic and red pepper flakes. It's got a mustard/pepper flavor.

If you can find pre-washed arugula, this dish is as easy as boiling water.

Ingredients:
1 box thin spaghetti
1 bunch arugula, washed (about 2 cups or 8 oz.)
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
4-5 garlic cloves
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes (1/4-1/2 teaspoon, but more if you like it hot)

Directions: Fill a stock pot with water and set it on high heat.

In a large skillet, add olive oil and butter and turn to medium low. Mince the garlic and add it to the pan along with the red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the water boils, add a small handful of salt and drop the pasta. Boil for about 6 minutes.

When the pasta is almost done, turn the heat up on your skillet to medium. Put your arugula in the skillet and then using a pair of tongs move the pasta from the stock pot to the skillet (just drop it right on top of the arugula). When you've transferred all the pasta, use the tongs to mix it with the arugula and the olive oil sauce.

Once everything is combined,  heated, and coated with sauce, serve and enjoy!

Q.E.D.: Roasted Broccoli Flower Pasta with Pesto

You may have noticed that there is dearth of cauliflower recipes on this blog. There's a good reason for that, namely that I hate cauliflower.

I know, it's a failing.

There are two vegetables that I simply cannot get on board with: cauliflower and beets. You've never seen a beet recipe on this blog because I have only made one recipe with them in my life. To my palate, they have a kind of vinegar aftertaste that I just can't handle.

My dislike of cauliflower is slightly weirder. I think it looks like a brain.

This is not the only reason I don't eat it. It's very crunchy and somewhat bitter and there's something about that particular combination that I don't care for. But add to it that I feel like I'm munching on tiny brains -- well, you can see why I might avoid it.

But, as a grown human being and someone who loves cooking, I feel committed to trying things multiple times. Different preparations can make all the difference. I'm sure I'll try beets again sometime and in this recipe I gave the brain-liflower another go. It turned out very tasty.

Notes: It's been a few posts since we've done a Q.E.D meal. If your weeks are anything like mine, you need good food and you need it fast. Look no further, my friends!

The name of this recipe is not literal in that I did not use the actual hybrid vegetable broccoliflower to make it. I just used a combination of broccoli and cauliflower.

I roasted the veggies because I wanted the depth of flavor. If you really didn't want to turn your oven on, you could always just toss the veggies into the pasta water during the last few minutes of cooking time. It's no fuss and it gets you a one-pot meal. The two downsides to that method are losing the roasted flavor and losing some of the vitamin content of the veggies (water leeches some of the nutrients out of them).

Ingredients:
1 pound short cut pasta like medium-sized shells, orecchiette, or bowties
1 head of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
2-3 tablespoons of prepared pesto sauce (I used my favorite brand from the grocery store)
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions: Heat the oven to 425.

Chop the broccoli and cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Put them on a baking sheet in one layer. Toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roast them for 15-20 minutes until you can pierce the pieces with a fork, but they're still tender-crisp.

While the veggies are roasting, fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the directions, but short cut pastas usually take between 10-12 minutes to cook.

When the pasta finishes, drain it and return it to the pot. Add in the veggies and pesto. Stir to combine. Serve and enjoy!

BRAAAAIIINNNNNS

Baked Ziti with Spinach

It's January and that means baked pasta dishes!

On a cold winter's night, you need some baked cheesy goodness to warm you from the inside out. And if for some reason you think that cheese and pasta aren't what you might call a "balanced diet," throw some spinach in there and forgive yourself.

Notes: The only downside to this dish is that it's not Q.E.D., but that's pretty much it. The leftovers are amazing. You could also assemble the whole dish and then put it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. You might even be able to leave it in the fridge overnight.

Ingredients:
1 pound box of ziti
15 oz. of ricotta cheese
1 large or two small fresh mozzarella balls
1 26 oz. jar of your favorite marinara sauce
3-4 garlic cloves
1 bunch of baby spinach leaves
1 small bunch of fresh basil
Dash red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat the oven to 375.

Cook the pasta according to the box directions. While the water is boiling, mince your garlic, and chop the basil and spinach. Pull the cheeses out of the fridge while the pasta cooks so that they come to room temperature.

Once the pasta is finished, drain it and add it back to the hot pot. Add in the ricotta, sauce, spinach, basil, garlic, and season the whole thing liberally with salt and pepper. Add the red pepper flakes and stir everything together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Pour the whole thing into a 9x13 baking dish. Slice or dice your fresh mozzarella and cover the top. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for an extra 7-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Now who wouldn't want to eat that on a chilly winter night? Enjoy!

Manchego Orzo with Spinach and Corn

The cooking gods were telling me I needed to make orzo, so I did it.

Two of my regular cooking blog reads had recipes for orzo. Both of them looked delicious, so I decided to create my own.

Notes: Cheeses like manchego are Scott-approved. Perhaps you cook for someone who is suspicious of cheese? Trust me, if Scott likes it, your picky cheese eater will like it too.

Ingredients:
1 box orzo pasta
Approx. 4 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce
1.5-2 cups shredded manchego or similarly-flavored cheese
2 ears of corn
Salt
Pepper
Butter for sauteing

Directions: Fill a stock pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add a small handful of salt to the water. Cook pasta according to directions (mine was 10 minutes).

Strip the kernels off the corn and collect them in a bowl. Heat a large skilled on medium and melt the butter in the skillet. Add the corn and saute. Season with salt and pepper.

Roughly chop the spinach and add it to the skillet with the corn. Saute until just wilted. If the pasta isn't done, go ahead and turn the heat off.

Once the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet. Stir in manchego and pesto sauce until everything is well-combined.

Enjoy!

Farmer's Market Creation: Heirloom Eggplant Lasagna

Check out these babies! You're used to seeing the big dark purple eggplants, no doubt, but eggplants can come in a lot of varieties. I saw these at the farmer's market and I simply had to have them.

Notes: Oh sweet lasagna. Is there anything better than that layered, cheesy goodness? No way. I much prefer veggie lasagna to the meat variety. You don't have to cook the veggies beforehand, so it saves time and dishes. Lasagna takes enough time as it is.

Heirloom eggplants don't have the same bitterness that their large purple cousins have, so there's no need to salt these beforehand. Even more time saved!

Ingredients:
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
3 small eggplants
1 26 oz jar of marinara sauce
15 oz. of ricotta cheese
1 large or 2 small balls of fresh mozzarella
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat oven to 375.

Thinly slice your eggplants. Put the ricotta cheese in a bowl, season with salt, pepper, and oregano, and mix well. Set aside.

Grab your 9x13 baking dish and pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom. Layer the lasagna as follows:
4 pasta sheets
slices of eggplants
1/3 ricotta mixture
more sauce

Repeat until you get to the last four sheets of pasta. Pour over the remaining sauce (you might need to add a little water to the jar to get out every drop -- you need the liquid to cook the pasta). Slice the fresh mozzarella and lay the slices on top.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. After the time is up, take the foil off and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Summer Salad Series: Caprese Pasta Salad

I am slowly winning Scott over to pasta salad.

For many years, he operated under the assumption that pasta salad came in only two varieties: vinegary and doused with store-bought Italian dressing or gloppy and drowned in mayonnaise. Since he likes neither vinegar nor mayonnaise, he was hesitant to try any pasta salad. And by "hesitant" I mean that he adamantly told me he did not like pasta salad: no way, no how.

After I convinced him that there were more varieties besides vinegary and gloppy, there remained the "but it's cold" hurdle. Pasta, in Scott's estimation, was not supposed to be cold. It took a warm Louisiana graduation to change his mind. I made some for the parents during graduation weekend. He tried it and -- surprise! -- it was tasty. Ever since then, he's been much more open to pasta salad. The verdict for this dish? "I wish I'd known how to make this myself when we lived apart!"

Notes: This dish was so very delicious. It's refreshing and mild -- exactly what you need on a hot summer evening.

The only reason this isn't Q.E.D is because it takes time to chill in the fridge. Otherwise, it's barely cooking at all.

If you wanted to up the nutritional content, add some chopped baby spinach.

I bought lemon basil because that's what the co-op had, but it didn't change the flavor enough for me to notice. I've just written it with regular basil.

Ingredients:
1 pound penne pasta
1 bunch fresh basil
1/2 pound of cherry tomatoes
1 fresh mozzarella ball
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions:

Fill a stock pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and drop the pasta. Cook according to box directions, it should be between 6-7 minutes.

While you're waiting for the water to boil, quarter the cherry tomatoes (or if they are small, just cut them in half). Chiffonade the basil (or just chop it if you're lazy like me). Dice the mozzarella ball.

When the pasta is finished, drain it in a colander. While the noodles are still in the colander, drizzle them with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Toss the noodles to coat them with oil. Repeat the process once more: drizzle more oil, season, and toss the noodles. Periodically stir the noodles until they stop steaming. If at any point they seem sticky, drizzle on more oil.

Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Toss to combine and pour the salad into the container that you plan to store it in. Chill for at least two hours or overnight.

Serve cold and enjoy!

Gnocchi Rosa

Remember when I made gnocchi from scratch? I froze half of it to use later. Well, later is now!

This dish is a different take on penne rosa. It has the same basic structure with just a few substitutions.

Notes: The frozen gnocchi worked like a charm. I didn't bother thawing them. They cooked very quickly (not as quickly as fresh, of course), so the hard work of making them from scratch at least gets you a little convenience in the future.

If I had had more time, I would have used a combination of canned tomatoes and herbs to make a fresh tomato sauce, but alas this week was busy. I had a jar of marinara on hand so I just used that. Sometimes you need a little help from the pantry.

I used shitake mushrooms, but you can use your favorite.

This got a big thumbs up from Scott, who has a somewhat less adventurous palate than I do. So if you're looking for dishes to help expand someone's food horizons, give this one a try!

Ingredients:
1 batch frozen (or fresh) gnocchi (see link above for directions)
1 26 oz. jar marinara sauce
1/2 bunch kale leaves, cleaned and de-stemmed
1/2 pound shitake mushrooms
8-10 fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons butter + 2 more for sauteing
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Put a large stock pot of water on to boil. If you're using frozen gnocchi, take it out of the freezer.

Thinly slice the kale and mushrooms. Chop the basil. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a skillet and heat on medium-high. When the butter melts, add the mushrooms and kale. Season with salt and pepper and saute until tender.

Move the kale and mushrooms to the sides of the skillet. Add the rest of the butter to the pan. When it melts, add the flour and whisk together. Whisk in the milk and stir everything together. Let the mixture thicken and then add in the marinara sauce and basil. Stir everything together and simmer.

When the water is boiling gently, drop in the gnocchi. When it floats to the top, scoop it out and add it to the sauce. When all the gnocchi is in the sauce, let it warm through for just a minute and then serve.

Enjoy!

(Almost) Vegan Gnocchi with Kale and Fava Beans

Ladies and gents, it's time for some fine dining here in the professor's kitchen!

As my cooking skills expand and improve, I find I'm getting pickier about restaurants. Don't get me wrong -- I like simple food. But if I go out to a nice restaurant, I have high expectations. If I plan to pay a lot of money for dinner, I want it to be a meal that I can't make (or make as well) myself.

Case in point: a friend arranged a lovely private dinner at a local eatery for a group of us. The food was, for the most part, quite good. One of the side dishes, however, was supposed to be gnocchi. Trust me, nothing about this dish was gnocchi. I knew I could do better myself, so I started planning this dish.

Notes: This bad boy is a labor of love, no doubt about it. It's great for a weekend or a day off, but don't plan it for week night.

My new ingredient in this dish is fava beans. I've never used them before, but the co-op had some and my curiosity triumphed. They were delicious! They take a little prep work, but they really aren't hard to use. Here is a great run down of how to prepare them. There are really only two steps.

Step one: Remove the beans from their pod.

Step two: Steam the beans in simmering water for about 3 minutes to loosen the outer casing. Remove the beans from the water and let them cool. As they cool, the outer casing will buckle and you'll be able to peel it off, revealing the emerald green bean inside.

Shelled fava beans on the plate

Once they're fully shelled, they're ready to put in whatever dish you want. Soups, dips, or in my case, pasta!

You can prepare the fava beans and the gnocchi ahead of time if you were entertaining with this dish. And boy would it be an impressive meal to show off!

The dish is "almost" vegan because I sauteed everything in butter. But it would be vegan (to my knowledge) if you used coconut oil or a vegan butter substitute. The gnocchi themselves are vegan because I used my chia seeds instead of eggs. They worked great!

I froze half of my gnocchi since I was just making dinner for two. We ended up with almost no leftovers. So I would cook the whole batch if you're cooking for four.

Ingredients for the gnocchi (adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen's recipe):
2 pounds of Russet potatoes (I uses three large potatoes)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
3 tablespoons water
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

Ingredients for pasta:
1/2 bunch of stemmed kale leaves
1 cup shelled fava beans (see notes)
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
5 tablespoons of butter
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake your potatoes for about an hour until they are fork tender. Let them cool some (just enough so you can handle them) and peel them. Grate the cooked potatoes over the large holes of a box grater or pass them through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl. Add salt.

In a small bowl, add three tablespoons of water to one tablespoon of chia seeds and let stand ten minutes. Add the chia mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine. A little at a time, add the flour to the potatoes. Mix to combine and keep adding flour until the dough comes together and no longer sticks to your hands.

Once the dough comes together, turn it out on to a floured surface and knead it just like bread for about three minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and then divide it into six smaller balls. Roll each ball into a rope about 3/4 of an inch thick. Using a pairing knife, cut the rope into 1 inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet (you'll fill two baking sheets).

Traditional gnocchi has little ridges. To make the ridges, roll the gnocchi pieces down the tines of a fork. Keep rolling and cutting until you use all six dough balls.

Put the gnocchi in the fridge while you prep the pasta ingredients.

Fill a stock pot with water and heat it on high. Chop the rosemary, mince the garlic, and finely slice the kale. Add the butter to a large skillet and heat it on medium. Add the rosemary, garlic, and kale, season with salt and pepper, and saute while you cook the gnocchi.

Once the water gently boils, drop the gnocchi in the water (carefully) half a baking sheet at a time. When the gnocchi floats to the top, remove it from the water and add it to the pan with the kale. Once all the gnocchi is cooked, add it all to the skillet and turn the heat up. Add in the fava beans and saute just until the gnocchi starts to brown slightly. Serve immediately and enjoy fine dining at home!

Spaghetti with Mushroom Sauce

Recipe inspiration can come from many sources -- or perhaps a combination of them. The latter is true with this dish. First, my friend Stacy posted this recipe for a vegetarian ragout. Looks delicious, right? Then I was reading a recipe in one of my cajun cookbooks for a mushroom spaghetti. My finished product is sort of a combo of the two.

Notes: I have some leftover jarred marinara sauce that I've been trying to use up. I used that in place of the canned tomatoes and tomato paste that you see here. I wrote the recipe the right way because the jarred sauce didn't work like I wanted to.

If I had a blender, I would have blended the carrots, onions, and celery into the tomatoes and then added the mushrooms. That would have made the mushroom flavor really shine. A combo of mushrooms would have worked really well (I just used crimini mushrooms).


Ingredients:
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 or 4 carrots
3 or 4 stalks of celery
1 onion
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
3/4 or 1 pound mushrooms (use your favorite)
3 or 4 anchovy filets
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions: Start by prepping all your veggies. You want a small dice on everything. Dice carrots, celery, and onion first. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a stock pot and heat on medium high. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Season well with salt and pepper. Let them saute for a good long while. You want them nice and tender, almost over cooked. Add the anchovies.

Mince your garlic and dice the mushrooms. Add them to the pot and saute until tender. Sprinkle in your herbs and red pepper and stir them into the veggies. Add in your tomatoes, water, and tomato paste. Make sure the tomato paste dissolves. Turn the heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.

Fill a stock pot with water. Once it boils add a small handful of salt and drop your pasta. Cook until al dente (for thin spaghetti, about 6 minutes). Drain the cooked pasta and add it into the stock pot where your sauce is. Stir to combine well.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Eggplant Lasagna

Vegetable lasagna is one of my favorite things to make and to eat. I have made many versions of it and I will make boatloads more in the future.

Notes: It's that glorious time of year again when summer vegetables start to come in season. The co-op got its first round of eggplant in, so I decided it belonged in my lasagna. Eggplant can sometimes taste bitter. Salting it before you use it will help draw out some of the liquid that contributes to the bitter flavor (I've included that step in the directions).

Lasagna is labor intensive, but not difficult. The hardest part it getting everything ready to assemble.

Here's a good tip: take your ricotta out of the fridge a few minutes before you need it. If it's closer to room temperature, it will spread more evenly.

When it comes to no-boil noodles, remember you need liquid at the edges or else they will stay crunchy. Just be sure to give them a nice coating of sauce before you put everything in the oven.


Ingredients:
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (no less than 26 oz., but more is better)
1 eggplant
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups of washed baby spinach
12-15 oz. of ricotta cheese
1 large or 2 small fresh mozzarella balls
1 tablespoon herbs de provence
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat oven to 375.

Slice your eggplant into rounds and lay them on a cooling rack. Sprinkle them with salt and let them sit while you assemble the rest of your ingredients.

Chop the spinach and add it to a bowl with the ricotta cheese. Season well with salt, pepper, red pepper, and herbs de provence. Stir to combine and set aside.

Slice the mozzarella balls into small, thin rounds and set aside.

Take a paper towel and pat dry the eggplant rounds.

Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish. Then, layer everything as follows:
4 noodles
1/3 ricotta mixture
Eggplant rounds
1 cup sauce

Repeat the layers until you use up the ricotta mixture. On the last layer, add the remaining noodles and sauce. Lay the mozzarella rounds on top. Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes until bubbly and hot. Take the foil off and bake for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese on top starts to bubble.

Let stand for 5-10 minutes, serve and enjoy!

White Baked Ziti

You've heard of white pizza. Now try white baked ziti!

Notes: I used fontina cheese for this, but you could use fresh mozzarella if you wanted. You could also substitute the kale for spinach. You could heat the milk up first and make a white sauce if you wanted, but I like mine a little on the dry side, so I just added milk and cheese.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. box ziti or other short cut pasta
1 1/2 cups of milk
5-8 oz. (1 1/2-2 cups grated) of fontina cheese
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 bunch of kale leaves, stemmed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Butter or olive oil

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 and put a stock pot of water on to boil.

Thinly slice your kale leaves, mince your garlic, and chop your rosemary. Add a tablespoon of butter to small skillet and turn it to medium-low. Once the butter melts, add the garlic and rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Let the herbs and garlic soften while you cook your pasta.

Once the water boils, add a small handful of salt. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. While the pasta is cooking, grate your cheese. Butter or oil a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Once the pasta is finished, add it to the baking dish. Pour in the milk, add the cheese, garlic, herbs, and kale. Mix everything together and bake for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Let stand 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!

Q.E.D.: Cheddar and Chive Couscous

I think maybe I need to create a new category of food called couch food. I make enough dishes that are suitable to eat while you're sitting on your couch maybe that's what I should call my cookbook.

Notes: This dish is versatile. You could make it as a side or as a main dish. You could add any veggie you like. It can also be easily doubled if you need to make more. I paired mine with a delicious kale salad. It's so fast, it's almost like not cooking at all.

Ingredients:
1 cup of couscous
1 clove of garlic
1/2 a bunch of chives
1 1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Start with all your chopping. Mince your garlic and chives. Grate your cheese (NB: if you use the small holes on your greater, it will melt easier in the couscous. For an extra time saver, use pre-shredded cheese.) Add the water to a 2-quart pot and bring it to a boil. Salt the water, stir in your couscous, and put a lid on it. Take it off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add your garlic, herbs, pepper, and cheese and stir until the cheese it melted.

Serve and enjoy!

Cheesy Noodle Bake

I don't come from a long line of chefs. My parents and grandparents have a handful of "signature" dishes between them, but probably not enough to fill a cookbook.

But, one of the dishes I remember both my grandmother and my mother making was baked pork chops on top of cheesy noodles. The pork chops were never my favorite part, but the cheesy noodles? They are the definition of comfort. I've been craving comfort food lately, so I decided some updated cheesy noodles were in order.

Notes: Cheddar cheese is what gives the cheesy noodles their signature taste, but use a different cheese if you must! I decided to make this one vegetarian, so I opted for greens instead of pork chops.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of pasta (spaghetti, linguine, angel hair)
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup chopped greens (swiss chard, kale, shredded cabbage)
Salt
Pepper
Butter (for greasing the baking dish)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a stock pot of water to a boil, add a small handful of salt to the water, and cook the pasta according to the directions. While your pasta is cooking, chop your greens and grate your cheese.

After you drop your pasta, heat the milk over medium heat until it's scalded -- warm and steaming with little bubbles around the edge, but not boiling. Season with salt and pepper.

When the pasta is done, drain it and pour it into your buttered glass baking dish. Turn the heat off the milk, add 2 cups of the grated cheese, and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the cheese and milk mixture over the noodles. Add the chopped greens and stir to combine. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Let it stand 5 minutes, serve it up and enjoy!

Comfort on a plate!