eating – Peaceful Reader

Amazing Days up ahead

Usually the holidays are a pretty low-key event at our house. We stay in our pajamas from Christmas Eve through Christmas night. I’m happy all three children will be home for those two days and I plan to enjoy every moment they are here.

Leading up to that though I have family coming to town. My brother and his family are here right now to see my mom before heading to Chicago. My brother’s partner, Jen, is also my longtime friend and soul sister. Her family is in Chicago but she and Chris, her kids and his kid all live in Denver, CO. I’m thankful they made the long drive to be here. My brother Jason and his family will be here on the 23rd/24th and I’m hosting and cooking up a storm.

Here are the recipes I’m making over the next few days for all of these events. I love to make and share food so I hope it all goes as planned and the food provides everyone with that home-for-the-holidays comfort but with a modern twist.

Last night I made this pasta and chickpea stew for the Colorado family as they pulled into town. It was delicious and so easy to make. I served it with fresh slices of bread. I made my favorite breakfast bread pudding from my The Cottage cookbook. Some day I’m going to make it to LaJolla to eat at this sweet place. Tonight I’m making my chicken enchiladas plus a pan of vegetarian sweet potato enchiladas for us non-meat eaters. I am so happy to make food for this family because I’ve not been around them for years.

For the 23rd dinner party I’m preparing Wild Rice Soup, Pumpkin Soup, Butternut and Spinach Lasagna. I’ve made this once already and I’m excited to try it again.

Christmas Eve I’m going to have this Thai Vegan Soup with fresh bread and a big salad. In the morning we will have waffles and a savory sweet potato hash with protein crumbles. And in the evening Shepherd’s Pie, Cauliflower Au Gratin, roasted Brussels sprouts, and steamed broccoli. We have so many treats around the house from friends and co-workers I don’t need to worry about making any desserts. We are not going to starve!

May your holiday be filled with the magic of Christmas and the joy of togetherness without the rapid spread of germs!

Farewell to September

I can’t believe October begins tomorrow. Summer is my favorite weather season because I like the heat of the sun, the warm days on a boat or patio, and easy summer foods and beverages. Many people love all that about Fall; the pumpkin spiced everything, the sweaters, the leaves falling. We’ve had amazing weather throughout September and I hope October brings more of the same. Truthfully all the seasons provide something to love but when we veer towards winter I dread feeling chilled all the time. As with every month I’ve done a fair amount of cooking and reading this last week. Right now I’m enjoying Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, the 2nd in the series.

Last weekend I cleaned up an area of my living room and went through a stack of books. Weird right, that I would have a stack of books sitting right on the floor in any of the rooms in my house? As I sorted this particular stack of books I found a note from a friend inside the front cover that said “I’m going to want this one back” which is code for “this was very good!” so I promptly started to read it.

The Plot was amazingly good and written by Jean Hanff Korelitz, an author I was completely unaware of until now. I read the book in 4 days and while it has some creepy moments it isn’t over the top because I can’t handle scary. It has great plot twists and interesting characters. Now I want to read other stories by this author. She is a playwright and started an online book group, Book the Writer, that pairs authors with readers. Check out the EventBrite page to see upcoming authors. I would love to sit in on one of these sessions even though technical they all take place in NYC apartments. (After browsing the list I signed up for the online group with Jhumpa Lahiri and her new book Wherabouts. I’ll have to check if the library has a copy as I made a promise to myself about book buying after I moved that stack of books from one spot to another.

{Half-Baked Harvest image}

Sometimes my brain works overtime and I try to prepare something for book club that relates to the book we read. This is not always easy but reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman the food question was very clear. The characters all eat pizza together in the apartment with the bank robber/kidnapper and so I made Roasted Mushroom Kale Pizza from Half-Baked Harvest and it was delicious. There were no leftovers. Last night I made Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna and it is amazing. We had it for dinner tonight with a salad and we had to force ourselves to stop picking at what remained in the pan. Two pieces is plenty…but oh, so good! I do want to make her Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew soon as well…I mean tomorrow is October after all.

Now I’m off to do a little bedtime yoga with Adriene and get myself mentally prepared for Friday.

It's flying by…

It’s the last day of June which means tomorrow begins July. Summer is what’s flying by … I am working hard on appreciating every day whether I’m alone working on homework, writing, reading, or cooking in my kitchen or if I’m hanging out with family it’s all good. I just always want more…

While I was in Rochester a week or so ago my step-mother sent me home with a bag filled with really good chocolate chip cookies and we ate those, loved having them around for an easy snack or dessert. Then I had to make more…have I mentioned that we are working out a LOT this summer! And not just our arm muscles. I browsed through Jenny Rosenstrach’s cookbook to find a recipe and decided to try this one switching out the candy for straight up chips.

M&M Cookies
Reprinted from Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach
Makes 24 cookies (I doubled it)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup good-quality chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli)
2 1.69-ounce bags M&Ms

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. (from JR: It was somewhat life-changing when I found out whisking was just as effective as sifting, so that’s what I usually do.) In a separate bowl and using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and mix until well combined. Add the vanilla and stir. Using a handheld mixer, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture gradually until all the dry mixture has been worked into the batter.

Fold in the chocolate chips, and using two spoons, scoop small rounds of dough onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart from each other. Pour the M&Ms into as many bowls as you have kids (it’s important for each helper to have his or her own bowl) and ask them to stick the candies into the dough rounds until they are all gone. (Sometimes I use my fingers to make the balls rounder on top—it makes for prettier cookies.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on a rack.

Jenny uses this recipe as a fun activity for kids which my kids loved to do also when they were younger. I did not have any kid assistance but I handled it well on my own and then my husband arrived home and he did a great job of tasting and/or stealing cookies. We all loved how the brown sugar became like a caramel base in the cookie. Will make again. Now onto yoga…

Work-outs – Me and (Yoga w/) Adriene have kept our yoga dates ALL through June and I am pleased as a puppy dog that I’ve followed through and had fun with this as a personal challenge. If you ever thought you might add a little yoga into your life this is the yogi to watch. She is funny, quirky, and gets deep into the feel of yoga. I hope to continue this through July and August. Her YouTube channel has a variety of styles and times. If you only have 15 minutes she’s got you. Love in, Love out…

I’ve also done a good amount of reading for pleasure in-between homework assignments and yoga time. I’ve read 5 elementary – middle school fiction & graphic novels and my favorites were The Best At It by Maulik Pancholy and Three Keys by Kelly Yang. Both tell great stories about being true to yourself as you struggle to get through school, friends, and all that life can throw at you even as a young person. I highly recommend both of these stories.

Now are you ready for July?

Other vacation treats (Baltimore)

While we were on the East Coast we tried several places on the recommendation of a friend and lucky for us they turned out to be delightful. If you find yourself in the Baltimore area try these two places out and you will be grateful.

{Greg’s Bagels}

Greg’s bagels: My friend worked here during high school which added to the charm as I tried to picture her behind the counter but the real pull was the l-o-n-g chalkboard list of salmon varieties and the incredible flavor we experienced after we’d ordered. Jenette had said to introduce ourselves to Greg, the bagel maker, and we did. He was effusive and charming even as he bumbled about the kitchen, laughing with young employees and restocking bagel baskets. My sister-in-law was with us and experienced the deliciousness and plans to take her husband back soon. She’s lucky she lives only a short 30 minute drive. We only head back every few years but this will be on our repeat list.

Captain James Seafood Palace: I remember when I was in high school our family had a fantastic East Coast trip where we gorged ourselves at oyster bars and crab houses and I wanted to share the same experience with our 20-year-old son. He loves seafood like many of us but we rarely eat at seafood restaurants because my husband has a shellfish allergy. We ordered the all-you-can-eat crab at $31.99 and it came complete with corn-on-the-cob, bread, and crab soup. It was cool to watch my son attack the pile of crabs with his mallet, cracking and picking out every little piece of meat. There was not a lot of talking from him.

My husband tried the wings, we shared a plate of calamari, and a cold pitcher of summer shandy. Sitting outside on the bay, which was beautiful even with the floating trash, watching the boats and hum of people activity made for a perfect evening in Baltimore for the 3 of us.

He made it through almost the entire pile of crabs and the last three I snuck home in a large napkin. Cheating, I know, but I knew Groovy Girl would want to try one as well.

I love to experience new places and it helps when you have a solid recommendation from a trusted source. Thanks Jenette for your last minute long list of places to eat!

Weekend Cooking; What's good and right.

The family gathered.

Last week while the book fair was taking up all my waking hours I got a phone call from Teenage Boy, which is big in the first place as he texts but doesn’t “talk”. The reason for his anxious phone call was about dinner; specifically where everyone was for dinner? His voice belied that he was a teenager at all but more like the middle school boy I think of fondly. He was concerned that he was at home by himself and it was dinner time. At first I was less than amused because I thought he was asking why I wasn’t home to make his dinner. I kindly reminded him that he could easily make himself dinner, was quite capable of making a good meal for himself and tried not to sound annoyed. To that his response was “No, I can make my own dinner, it’s just that I didn’t know where everyone was and we usually eat dinner together.” Oh, yea, right.

We do usually eat dinner together. It does feel odd when one or more of us is missing from our vintage (old) linoleum table. And even though I think he’s listening as my husband and I make plans for the week he’s not always tuned in to the hum drum of what will transpire this week, like I’m won’t be home until after 8 on Tuesday and Thursday and my husband says I won’t be home Thursday night either and I’ll bring Groovy Girl to you at school. How he misses all that at said table I don’t know but we are making a new resolution to alert him to scheduling issues that will affect him.

The greater idea though was that he missed all of us being here at the same time, sharing a meal together. It is a tradition he’s had for the part of his life he remembers and I appreciate that this is important family time to him. He often is the one to start the “So what was the best part of your day?” even though when it comes back around to him he shrugs his teenage shoulders leaving that as his answer.

I made him happy this week by leaving 1/4 of a pan of these brownies at home when I made them for my 5th grade book club. Book club boys fought over the chocolate ones-I’d interspersed blondies I’d made for a funeral at church and Teenage Boy was thrilled to hear me say they were so easy I’d make more this weekend. He and his sister polished off the leftover goodies after school, leaving none for their dad much to his dismay. I guess I need to make sure big Daddy gets his fair share from this next batch.

I’m off to scrub potatoes for tonight’s dinner and once I have those boiling I will whip these up for late night happiness. What is your dinner hour like? Are you able to eat together or is it in shifts?

From The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman
(328-329)

Fudgy One-Pot Brownies

Makes 12 huge or 24 reasonably-sized brownies

1 cup (2 sticks, unsalted) butter, plus butter for greasing the baking pan
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar ( I used turbinado since the color wouldn’t matter)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 T pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (unbleached) flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Butter a 13 X 9 baking pan.
2. Place butter sticks and chocolate squares in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat and let melt, stirring until smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt, then blend in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring to mix quickly so they don’t have a chance to cook at all. Blend in the flour.

3. Scrape the thick batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until the edges just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a wooden toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

4. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, cut them into 12 or 24 squares.

(It should say hold the family back while they cool-they made the house smell delicious and people were hanging close to the kitchen.) Enjoy…

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking post. Click to her link to find many other eclectic food-related posts.

Friends and Salads

This is my friend Jennifer. We’ve known each other for 20 years. We’ve laughed and cried together. She’s seen me at my best and my worst. She was my maid of honor when I married Greg and she was there for the birth of my first child. We bumped bellies when our daughters were in utero-our girls are two months apart in age. I love her dearly and she truly is like a sister to me. I miss her terribly because some how we ended up in two different states; she stayed in Colorado and I moved to Iowa. We travel back there every couple of years but I’ve always wished our children could grow up together. These last few weeks I’ve been in Colorado for an extended stay and it was perfect. I hung out with her four beautiful children while she worked and when she was off we played. The photo above was taken at the Denver Zoo.

Some of my earliest adult food memories are shared with her. We used to make lunch together and one of our favorite meals was grilled cheese dipped in ketchup. Yep. Healthy. We were vegetarians together for years. We loved sushi with saki and Mexican food~usually accompanied by several margaritas. While we did make some margaritas one night our eating was a little more healthy this time around. She’s turned into a fabulous cook and whipped up several great meals while we were there.

She shared two recipes with me that we made together and I will make again soon

on my own, thinking of her.

(Our beet salad next to magazine photo)

Tomato and Beet Salad

(adapted from Everyday Food by Martha)

Roast 1# beets

Slice 2# garden fresh tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Arrange tomatoes on platter

Remove beets from oven and run under cold water, using a paper towel to remove skin. Be careful-they are hot! Once skin is removed slice beets and add to platter.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup (or more) feta cheese crumbles over top. Add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Garbanzo Bean Salad

(We dug in so quickly we forgot to take a photo)

1 can garbanzo beans or soak your own

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

olive oil (more)

red wine vinegar (less)

sprinkle sea salt

Mix together and eat. Yum.

Thank you Jen for such a fabulous holiday! You are courageous and even more amazing now! I love you and hope our friendship continues to grow for more years to come.

This post is linked to the ever friendly Beth Fish Reads weekend cooking meme hosted by Candace. Feel free to head over there by clicking on the link and read other food-related posts.

November Reading Recap and a few mini-reviews!

Teenage Boy exclaimed the other day: “This year is going by so fast!” and I agree. December is just around the corner. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent in Deephaven, MN with my younger brother and his family. The weather was gorgeous and the food was spectacular! My brother has emerged as quite an eclectic chef and we had a non-traditional meal with King Salmon as the main course. The salmon was caught in Lake Superior this past summer by my 9-year-old nephew! A truly amazing feat and he was all smiles as we ooh’ed and aaah’ed over his tasty fish.

My reading in November was quirky:

Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson (my shelf): Ugh. So wanted this to be as good as The Luxe series. It was not.

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman (library): This deserves a much longer review but suffice it to say I loved Hoffman’s writing and will search for more of her prose.

Spellbound (The 2nd book of Elsewhere) by Jacqueline West (library): I loved this little series-perfectly creepy with a strong young female heroine. I reviewed it here.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own making by Catherynne M. Valente (library): I waxed poetically about this book here after just a few chapters. The book stayed consistently superb. The vocabulary alone puts it in a category all its own. I had to look words up. Such a treat. The author’s website offers a preview of the book. Go on click and check it out!

Organizing the Disorganized Child by Martin L. Kutscher and Marcella Moran (new purchase): Trying to help my Groovy Girl out a little here-this is filled with many great tools like this clock.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (my shelf): I don’t love it as much as The Lightning Thief but it is a good adventure with mixed race siblings. I love learning about ancient Egypt. I’ve had this on my shelf since it was first published-glad to be finally crossing it off my list. The same nephew that was responsible for bringing in the salmon was a little disgusted with me-he’s read ALL of Riordan’s books-some more than once! He was all like “well, have your read The Son of Neptune??” Ahh, not yet.

What have you been reading??
Happy December.

Weekend Cooking; Bread Uprising

Potato Bread on its 2nd rise-looking plump and airy.

Last week I wrote about an Oooey Gooey Bread but I hadn’t made the bread yet. After making it I had a revelation…I should generally test drive the recipes before sharing. Brilliant, I know. The bread was good but it didn’t rise as much as I expected. The recipe did make three loaves and I did share the love. I took one to church and they ate the whole thing. I took one to school and they ate the whole thing. I have half a loaf still on my counter that we are whittling away at. I enjoyed rolling out the dough and folding it but when I got to throwing down all that sugar into the middle I couldn’t do it. I changed it up, adding the cinnamon and brown sugar but just a little cane sugar. This sugar mix worked for me. The cinnamon was intensely wonderful. I was only disappointed in the rise. I love to watch the rise and this one didn’t do that-it was flat. I’d love feedback on this if anyone has any clues.

In last week’s post I mentioned another potato bread recipe (from Barefoot Kitchen Witch) I was going to try and that one gave a good rise as well as a great kneading experience. I even got my KitchenAid out with the dough hook (first time I used the dough hook) because her photos and commentary told me this would be good. I generally just mix it myself with a wooden spoon or my hands but I liked watching it come together with the dough hook so I might be a new convert. I don’t get my Kitchen Aid out much because it’s heavy and in a tight cupboard space. This bread looked beautiful in the two different rising stages but once I put it in the pan it didn’t rise over the top as much as I expected. I don’t know if it is the yeast or the cold, but my bread is not becoming airy and light, but dense is okay as long as the taste is good. I toasted two slices for breakfast and it was yummy. I plan to try this recipe again.

I made this Baked Penne with Broccoli and Smoked Mozzarrella from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe for dinner last night. It was good but my kids didn’t like it. I left the chicken out and it tasted great (the smoked mozzarella was amazing) for my husband and I. My kids are really in a disappointing eating phase. They eat tofu, endamame, sushi, Thai food but I make a simple baked pasta dish and they squirm. They do not like things mixed up so much. Groovy Girl separated the broccoli from the penne pasta. It is so disconcerting. Hmmm.

First loaf out of the oven and ready to toast.

Hope your cooking up something good.

Weekend cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads-click on her name to see her reviews of several story book inspired cookbooks. I would love the Mary Poppins Cook Book.

Happy Saturday.

I’ve been to a 4-H breakfast and two soccer games so far today and still have a speed theatre event to attend

Weekend Cooking and lemon love

My mother has given me a subscription to Eating Well for the last two years. I like it but it is much more meat oriented than I need. I do enjoy the get healthy articles and the pictures are lovely but Vegetarian Times still rules at my house.

When Eating Well arrived yesterday I did my normal quick perusal and found a beautiful article about lemons; it made me dreamy for warmer weather in a state other than my own. Lemons bring forth thoughts of California, Arizona; two places I’ve been lucky enough to pick lemons fresh from the tree, that pungent, beautiful smell as you snap it from the tiny limb.
Melissa Pasanen has obviously had a similar experience as she shares in her article “When Life Gives You Lemons” (Feb. 2011/p. 52).

She writes; ” I know what to do with bushels of zucchini and a cellar full of turnips, but when life gave me loads of lemons I was almost overcome by the riches.” I know what to do with overflowing baskets of tomatoes and zucchini but when I buy one lemon from the grocery store it is a treasure-imagine if I had a tree out back-there would be fresh lemonade everday. Melissa goes on to explain how a temporary move to New Zealand brings her to an abandoned lemon tree down the road. She now has access to free lemons any time she wants and she comes home with a new appreciation for the yellow orb.

I share today the one recipe I may make today from the article:

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins
Makes: 1 dozen
Active Time: 25 mins./Total: 1 hour

1/2 cup plus 2 T. sugar divided
3/4 cup nonfat yogurt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
3 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal, med. or fine stone-ground
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed), coarsely chopped(food processor)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, yogurt, lemon, oil, egg, 2 tsp lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl.
3. Whish flour, cornmeal, b. powder, b. soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in cranberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Combine the remaining 2 T. sugar and 1 remaining tsp. lemon zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins.
4. Bake muffins until golden brown and they spring back lightly to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 5 more minutes before serving.

(187 calories per muffin, 7 grams of fat)

Can’t you just taste the burst of cranberries with the zesty lemon flavor!
Yum.

Eating Well website
The article link is here: When Life Gives You Lemons
This post is part of Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme…anybody can play along with your own food-related post.

Lasagna

Fall is definetely peeking around the corner and my recipes are changing as the temperatures drop. My daughter and I generally go to our local farmer’s market every Saturday morning. Sometimes I have a general idea of what I’m want/need but today we just wandered. I wanted a basket of groundcherries but felt too stingy to pay the $4.25 they were asking. I used to pick them up for free from my grandmother’s garden and I love them but if I bought that little basket I would have to make a pie and I already had a lot on my plate for today.

We did buy a beautiful pumpkin to put at our fairy tale door-it seemed like the right time since we both had to wear our fleeces to the market and leaves swirled around us as we shopped. My daugher wants me to eventually to turn it into a pumpkin pie. I just let her be excited about the seeds we will scoop from the insides and didn’t get into how pies come from a smaller pumpkin.

I did do some serious cooking though as I had an beautiful eggplant staring me down from last week’s FM. I don’t like to leave fresh, delicious produce sit in our veggie basket for that long but we’ve had a busy week and well, there sat the eggplant. I looked through a few of my trusty recipe books for something different but didn’t find anything that stole my heart and begged to be cooked so I went back to my trusty eggplant standby-which seemed like it was calling my name anyway! I’ve made this recipe for the first time like 9 years ago and probably make it 5-6 times a year. If you ever were to come and visit-this is probably the recipe I would cook for you. This recipe demonstrates my love of cooking, which sits just an 1/2 inch behind my love of reading.

Shop Indie Bookstores“>The Healthy Kitchen; Recipes for a better body, life and spirit written by Andrew Weil, M.D. and Rosie Daley hold within its pages this trusted recipe which I share with you tonight. Once again the five of us around the table left happy and full. This book is so well-loved there is a break in the spine, right about where this recipe is listed!
Vegetable Lasagna

Marinara Sauce

1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped carrots
3 T. olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
16 blanched plum tomatoes or 28 ozs canned peeled whole toms.
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 T. honey
1/2 tsp. salt (to taste)
1 T. Italian Seasoning

Eggplant
I med. eggplant, sliced length-wise 1/2 inch thick
salt, to taste
less than 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 T. olive oil

Spinach
2 bunches washed, de-stemmed spinach
5 ozs goat cheese or ricotta
1 T. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. chopped fresh basil

Lasagna

12 sheets oven-ready lasagna noodles
1 cup purified water
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, shredded
10 kalamata olives, pitted and halved

     Make the marinara sauce first: Saute the onion, garlic, and carrots in olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat for 3 minutes. Add the red wine, oregano, and basil, and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the wine is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, honey, salt and Italian Seasoning and continue to cook until the mushrooms become limp, about 15 minutes.
Preheat the broiler.
     Broil the eggplant: Brush both sides of the eggplant with olive oil, salt, little bit of cayenne and lay on a baking pan. Broil for 3 minutes on middle rack under the broiler until it turns brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Prepare the spinach: Steam the spinach for 1 minute in a pot filled with 1/2 cup purified water. Remove from heat and let cool.
     Squeeze the spinach, using clean hands, to remove excess water. Put softened goat cheese or ricotta in a medium bowl. Add the cooked spinach and mix together thoroughly with a fork. Put the olive oil, onions and sliced garlic in a small saute pan over low heat. Saute for 2 minutes until the onions turn light golden brown. Remove from heat and cool. Add it to softened cheese and spinach mixture. Add the pepper and the fresh basil and mix together.
     Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Assemble lasagna: Cover bottom of 13 X 9 inch baking dish with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce. Lay 4 sheets of the oven-ready noodles on top. Spoon the spinach filling over noodles and spread it around. Lay 4 more sheets of noodles on top of spinach. Lay eggplant slices length-wise over the noodles. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Pour 1 cup of marinara sauce over the cheese. Lay another 4 sheets of noodles over the sauce. Slowly pour the water over the lasagna noodles. Pour the remaining marinara sauce on top. Sprinkle the top with remaining mozzarella cheese and olives. Cover with foil and cook for 1/2 hours in the oven. When it is completely cooked, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes-or longer, it lets everything set and juices to absorb. Cut into squares and eat.

Okay, I know it sounds like a lot of steps-and it is, but so well-worth it. What’s funny is the recipe actually includes a white sauce, which I have made exactly once and none of us thought it added to the flavor thus making it not worth the time to make it. If anybody is a white sauce fan, let me know and I will email the recipe to you. I have tweaked this recipe quite a bit over the years but I’ve given you the true recipe.

I love eggplants-they have such a intense color! This recipe is perfect on a just-about-fall-table, as a potluck dish, or as a I-love-you family treat. What about you? Did you shop at your local farmer’s market? Did you cook with any vegetables today?? What was it? This post is part of Beth Fish Reads for Weekend Cooking. Head there to read an excellent cookbook review as well as a list of other Weekend Cooking participants. I hope you might try this delicious eggpland dish-just to try something different. There is something so wonderful about making this from start to finish; all from scratch.

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