Lasagna al Forno

Here is an attempt to make lasagna a little bit healthier. This recipe
is also from my Laurel's Kitchen cookbook. The Daddy really liked it!

3/4 pound whole wheat
or whole wheat-soy lasagna noodles
6 cups tomato sauce, Italian style (I used mine from a can)
2 cups cottage cheese
3 cups grated mozzarella or Swiss cheese
1-3 bunches of spinach, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts or almonds

Cook noodles in a very large pan of boiling , salted water until
almost tender: they will cook more in the oven, absorbing liquid from
the sauce as they do, and if they are slightly undercooked at the
point, they'll hold together better while you're assembling the dish.

Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 1/2 inch baking
dish, add a layer of noodles, lengthwise. Keep the best noodles for
the top. Each layer of noodles should lie crosswise to the one below
it.

On the layer of noodles, spread the first layer of filling; one half
the cottage cheese, one third of the nuts, one forth of the Parmesan;
and a coating of sauce. Layer noodles again, then the spinach and most
of the mozzarella, and sauce. More noodles, another cheese and nuts
layer, and your prettiest noodles across the top. Add sauce and the
rest of the nuts and cheese for the top. Bake at 350 degrees for
30-45 minutes; then let stand 10 minutes before cutting-otherwise it
will be too runny to hold together and too hot to eat. Serves 8.

NOTE: This is the original recipe in the book. Let me tell you what I
did and what I'm going to do in the future. I added shiitake mushrooms
to the spinach layer as well. I made two casseroles using the same
ingredients. This way I had the flavors of the cheese but it didn't
go overboard. So I put a 1/2 cup cottage cheese on the cottage cheese
layer instead of 1 cup. It was still sooooo good. In the future I'm
going to add tons more spinach and mushrooms. I would cut back even
more on the cheese and maybe add some different veggies like zucchini
or summer squash, maybe some green peppers. In the Laurel's cookbook
it suggests using tofu instead of cottage cheese. Also, a topping of
bread crumbs with a little olive oil would be good too. This is
definitely good for company. We had guests the night I made it and
they really liked it. Don't omit the walnuts. They have that good for you omega-3 fat in them and added a nice crunch!

A Pretty Corny Pizza Recipe

Here is an innovative pizza I tried from my Laurel's Kitchen cookbook.
It was really good and the WHOLE family really liked it. What a great
way to use up your abundance of summer squash!

Crust:
1 3/4 pounds summer squash
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon (or less salt)
2 teaspoons baking powder

Topping:
1 large onion, chopped (next time I'm adding more)
2 tablespoons olive oil ( I used less)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil ( I added more, I love the flavor)
1 1/2 cups grated jack cheese ( I used mozzarella and only used half the amount)

(This recipe is also good with mushrooms and any other veggies you
want to add to it.)

Cut squash in large chunks and steam until tender. Puree; you should
have 2 cups. Mix honey, eggs, and oil with the puree. Combine the
cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients and wet,
stirring until smooth. Turn into a greased 12"x18" baking pan or a
large pizza pan (mixture should be about 3/4" deep) and bake 12 to 15
minutes, just until corn bread begins to pull in from the sides of the
pan.

While corn bread is baking, saute onion in olive oil along with chili
powder, oregano, cumin, and coriander. Spread onion mixture across
top of corn bread, then scatter tomato atop that. Sprinkle with
basil, then cheese. Return to oven to 10 minutes. Serves 6
generously.

Lebanese Fattoush

I learned a higher way of eating when we lived across the street from someone from Lebanon. Her kitchen was always full of smells, and when she'd open up her pot, she'd show me something full of wonderful vegetables. She also served Tabouleh, a Lebanese salad, heavy on the parsley. Dod didn't make this particular dish; I adapted it from a recipe on allrecipes.com, but I was only attracted to it because of her. Incidentally, her kids were all HUGE vegetable eaters, as well.

• 6 lettuce leaves, chopped
• 3 cabbage leaves, chopped
• 4 small radishes, minced
• 1 medium cucumber, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, minced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 12 sprigs parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Toss together the lettuce, cabbage, radish, celery, red bell pepper, carrot, onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil, pomegranate seeds, and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Curried Rice Salad

Rice
1 cup raw brown rice
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups water

Vegetables
1 2/3 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced red or green bell peppers
1 cup diced apples
1/2 cup currants or raisins

Dressing
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar or mild honey
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne

plain nonfat yogurt
toasted chopped cashews
peeled and cubed mango (optional)


In a small saucepan, combine the rice with the tumeric, cinnamon, salt, and 2 cups of water. Cover, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer very gently for about 40 minutes, until the rice is tender. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, celery, peppers, apples, and currants or raisins in a large bowl. Whisk together of of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour it over the vegetables and fruit. Cool the cooked rice for 15 minutes; then toss it into the vegetables. Top each serving with yogurt and cashews, and mango, if desired. Note: Finely chopped mango chutney can replace the sugar or honey in the dressing if desired.

Whole Wheat Bread: Bosch Basic Bread

This recipe came with my Bosch mixer from Pleasant Hill Grain.

Hot Tap Water: 2.5 Cups
Step A Portion of Flour:4 cups
Oil: 1/4 cup
Honey: 1/4 cup
Gluten: 2 T
Dough Enhancer: 1 T
SAF Yeast: 2 T
Step B portion of flour:1 cup
Salt: 1 heaping T


Maximum total whole wheat (6 to 8) cups

With dough hook in Bosch b owl, pour in hot water. Add the "Step A" quantity of freshly ground whole wheat flour, then the oil, honey, gluten, dough enhancer and yeast. With splash ring installed, jog switch to "Pulse" several times to prevent splashing, then mix well on Speed 1. Stop and add the "Step B" quantity of flour, add salt on top. Turn on to Speed 1 and within about 1 minute, gradually sprinkle in more flour until the sides of the bowl come clean enough to see bottom of bowl. This final amount of flour required depends on the humidity of the air and the protein content of the wheat.

After bowl sides come clean, knead on Speed 1 until gluten is developed, generally 8-10 minutes. (If using white flour, kneading time for gluten development may be much shorter.) Gluten development is checked by pulling off a golf-ball sized piece of dough with oiled hands and slowly 2-3 inches between fingers. Gluten is properly developed when you can stretch dough almost transparent without tearing. If it tears very easily, knead longer. Gluten will develop more quickly if you wheat has exceptionally good protein content. Finished dough will have a soft sheen. If over-kneaded, it will become stringy and bread texture won't be uniform.

Note: It's better to add too little four than too much; you bread will be lighter. The sound of the Bosch will become deeper and the tone will rise and fall somewhat when you've added most of the flour. This is normal--the Bosch is built to take the load! If you use four from the fridge or freezer, let it warm to room temperature before using for bread dough.

When gluten is developed, pour dough out on a greased surface. Shape dough into a circle and divide into 2 equal pieces (a dough divider is perfect for this.) The batch makes 2 large (8 x 3 1/2) loaves. Or each piece would make 2 mini loaves or 2 pizza crusts. Two pieces make a 9 x 13 pan of cinnamon rolls. Loaf pans 8 x 4 1/2 give a nice rounded top.

Shape the loaves by hand or by rolling out. To roll out, use a greased pin on a greased surface and roll to 8" x 16". Then, starting at the far end, roll up tightly in a spiral like you would cinnamon rolls. Tuck each end under and slam dough down (hard!) on the counter a couple times to get rid of air bubbles between lays of dough. Put in greased pans. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place until volume doubles (about 30 minutes). Bake in preheated oven at 350 F. After 30 minutes, est by removing loaf from pan and inserting probe of an instant-read thermometer through side or bottom, into the center of the loaf. Loaf is done when internal temperature reads 200 F at center. Cool on racks. Don't store in plastic bags until fully cooled. Freeze the extra loaves in bags.

Apple Bread

This is a recipe my friend gave me. She cut the sugar and added whole wheat. It's tastes so good even with half the sugar. Here it is . . .

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. each of baking powder and cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup each, shredded coconut and chopped walnuts
1/2 cup evaporated 2 % milk (I used regular milk, you can use soy too)
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated apples
1/2 cup grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add coconut and walnuts. Mix well. In a medium bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, egg, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in apples and carrots. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into pan. Spread evenly. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Makes 1 large loaf, 12 slices.

Fennel Carrot Soup

Here's one of my favorite soups from Light and Tasty. It has the best flavor from the fennel.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
1-1/2 pounds carrots, sliced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium apple, peeled and cubed
3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth
2 tablespoons uncooked long grain rice
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley


DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, saute fennel seed in butter for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Add the carrots, sweet potato and apple; saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, rice, curry powder and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until rice and vegetables are very tender. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Discard bay leaf. In a blender or food processor, process soup in batches until pureed. Return to saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 8 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 117 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 4 mg cholesterol, 989 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1 starch.