Anyhow, onto today's lunch:
• homemade vegetarian lasagna
• celery with extra marinara sauce for dipping or to pour on the lasagna
• cantelope
• sesame sticks
• water
• morning snack: apple and soymilk
Vegetarian lasagna:
(Modified from a recipe I saw Lida Bastianich cook on one of her shows)noodles
• Add most of a box to boiling water with a dash of olive oil, cook according to the box's directions!
sauce
• saute chopped onions in olive oil
• add chopped garlic, don't burn (I add a lot)
• add sliced mushrooms if using them, add salt, cook until water is out of 'shrooms
• add a bay leaf (remember to take it out before using!), add crushed oregano
• add a few splashes of red wine if using (I didn't this time, but often do), cook until evaporated
• add peeled tomatoes (smash them up before you do). I used 3 large cans of Muir Glen, my favorite. This makes a lot of sauce. (You'll want extra for when you serve it, plus I use some on the side for myself since I don't eat the lasagna.)
• Add a little tomato paste. (Note: If one of your cans of peeled tomatoes is "crushed tomato," that already contains tomato paste so you can skip this step.)
• simmer for awhile — like an hour, stirring from time to time
• shut it off, let it "rest" before using
ricotta and other cheeses
• Lida's recipe says to drain the ricotta, whisk in two eggs, and add salt, but honestly, when I've tried to drain it, only a few drops come out, so to me it's not worth it. I also skip the eggs. I've tried it with eggs — they do make it creamier — but Rob says he can't tell the difference, so save a chicken.
• slice up a baseball-sized ball of fresh mozzarella
• have grated parmesan ready (use good stuff, not the stuff in the green container that has no shelf life)
assembling
• spread sauce on the bottom of your pan. Our oven has been out of order for more than a year so all baking is done in the toaster/convection oven, which means we can't use big pans. I use a glass pan that looks like it was meant for brownies or a small square cake?
• add a layer of noodles side-by-side, letting the extra hang over the side of the pan
• more sauce (be generous, you don't want this to be dry)
• add parmesan, then a layer of noodles going in the other direction
• add all of the ricotta, spread like frosting, sprinkle more parmesan
• another layer of noodles going another way
• add mozzarella (all of it)
• sauce, parmesan
• another layer of noodles going in the last direction
• sauce, parmesan
• flap over the noodles hanging over the sides, starting with the first layer that you did (I'm not sure the order is critical, but for some reason, it seems to make sense, right?)
• depending on the size of your pan, the center may be open — that's fine.
• more sauce (again, be generous so that the noodles on top stay softish)
• more parmesan
Cover with foil, bake for 15-20 minutes, uncover, bake for 15-20 more. Take out of oven and let it rest for awhile (or else it will fall apart).
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