Roasted Eggplant Lasagna

Found this recipe when we were blow-drying my mom's cookbooks after a leak in the kitchen. It's adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Pasta cookbook. I loved the addition of the goat cheese; it was delicious!

J'adore: Roasted Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients:
1/2 a large eggplant, diced
2 zucchini, diced
1 red or orange bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
8-10 mini plum tomatoes OR 4 regular size tomatoes, diced
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced
1 lb. (med. container) tomato sauce*
1 package fresh lasagna sheets*
1 lb. (1 med. size container) fresh ricotta cheese*
1 small log (5 oz.) goat cheese
1/2 cup half and half, milk, or cream
leaves from 2-3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped or minced
grated parmesan or romano cheese

Directions:
Dice the eggplant, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, and rosemary. Mix them together in an oven-safe baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, toss to coat, and bake at 450°F for approximately 35 mins. The vegetables should be cooked and lightly browned.

In a skillet or sauce pan combine diced tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, and some olive oil. Turn heat to med-low and simmer for approximately 15 minutes while the other vegetables are roasting.

In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, goat cheese, half and half, and chopped parsley.

To assemble the lasagna, first pour some tomato sauce into the bottom of your lasagna dish. Place a layer of pasta over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the roasted vegetables onto the pasta and drizzle or spread 1/4 of the tomato mixture over it. Add another layer of pasta, another layer of veggies, and some more of the tomato mixture or sauce. This time, dot with the cheese blend before adding your next layer of pasta. Continue with one more layer containing cheese, tomatoes and/or tomato sauce, and roasted veggies. I usually sprinkle some grated parm. or romano cheese on each layer as well. Once you have your final layer of pasta over the cheese and veggies, top with the remaining tomato mixture and ample sauce to cover all of the pasta. Sprinkle with more grated cheese. Bake at 350°F for approximately 45 minutes.


*I am spoiled and always get fresh pasta sheets, fresh ricotta, and sauce from Carlino's Italian Market in West Chester or Ardmore. If you can get fresh, use it because it makes a far superior lasagna.

Zucchini Bread Variations

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If life gives you zucchini, make zucchini bread. I've heard stories about towns where people sneak zucchini into each others' mailboxes, leave them on car seats, and pretty much have all out zucchini warfare. A student of mine has told me (on more than one occasion) that he can no longer stomach zucchini after his mother planted it in the garden one summer. I laughed at all of these stories, because I love zucchini, and, honestly, how bad could one little plant be? I suppose I learned my lesson when one weekend I had little zucchini and the next I had green clubs.

Our old neighbor, Sarah, once made us some zucchini bread, and I loved it. Luckily she gave us the recipe before she moved. The more I talked about zucchini and zucchini bread, the more people kept telling me about the different recipes they had. Who knew there could be so many variations? The best thing about zucchini bread, aside from its delicious flavor, is that it freezes well. In the summer I like it plain, but in the winter I like it slightly toasted with a little cream cheese. In any case, here are a few of the recipes I've tried:

J'aime: Vermont Summer Muffins

This recipe is originally from one of the Moosewood cookbooks. Although they're called muffins, they're really more like muffin-shaped biscuits. Scott has been eating these right out of the fridge and prefers them to the sweeter zucchini breads. I like mine warmed up in the toaster oven with a little butter. Makes about 20 muffins.

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated zucchini
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
2-3 Tbs. chopped scallions
1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Sift all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add cheese, zucchini, scallions, and herbs, and toss lightly to mix.
4. In another bowl, beat the eggs and then whisk in the buttermilk and melted butter.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the large bowl and stir enough to blend.
6. Spoon batter into buttered muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full.
7. Bake for 30-35 mins. or until golden.


J'adore: Laura's Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips and Pecans

This recipe came to me thanks to Facebook. An old friend from high school sent me her favorite recipe when she saw that I was making zucchini bread. The original recipe is from An Endless Harvest. Laura suggested adding chocolate chips to the batter. The recipe calls for pecans, but Scott is not a big fan of nuts in breads or cookies, so I made two mini loaves with plain batter and three with chocolate chips and pecan pieces. This has been my favorite recipe so far, and I like that you can sub apple sauce for the oil. Makes 5 mini loaves.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 cups grated zucchini (with skin)

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
1. Grease and flour 5 mini loaf pans or two regular sized loaf pans.
2. Sift all dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl beat eggs slightly. Add oil (or apple sauce and oil), vanilla, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Beat briefly.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir.
5. Add zucchini and stir to blend evenly.
6. Add pecans and chocolate chips, if desired.
7. Batter will be thick and should be spooned into loaf pans. Fill pans approx. 3/4 full.
8. Bake at 325°F for approx. 45 mins. to 1 hr. depending on the size of the loaf pans. Bread should be golden on the top, and a knife should come out clean when inserted into the bread.

Vegetable Fajitas

I'm not sure if my mom came up with this recipe or if I did, but I think I've been making it for as long as I've been cooking. The measurements aren't too precise, but it's a wonderful summer recipe, especially with the bounty of home gardens and farmers' markets.

J'adore: Vegetable Fajitas with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:
1 zucchini
1 yellow summer squash
2 carrots
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange)
olive oil (or Persian Lime Infused Olive Oil)
balsamic vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
approx. 1/2 jar salsa
chili powder
juice from 1 large lime slice (optional)

1 or 2 onions, sliced or diced
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

tortillas
grated cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)

For the fajita filling:
1. Dice all vegetables and put into a large non-stick skillet. Add approx. 1 Tbs. of olive oil or lime olive oil, stir to coat vegetables, and turn heat on to medium-low.
2. Cook vegetables for about 5 minutes, then add approx. 1 Tbs. balsamic or white balsamic vinegar to the skillet. Add approx. 1/2 a jar of prepared salsa to the skillet. Stir to combine ingredients. Add chili powder to taste. Cook vegetables long enough that they are soft, but still a little crunchy. Remove from heat.

For the caramelized onions::
Slice or dice onions according to your preference. I prefer to half my onions and then slice them; Scott prefers them diced so that they're not too stringy and are easier to eat. Place onions in small non-stick frying pan with oil. Saute until tender. Sprinkle in brown sugar, stir, and continue to saute another minute or two.

Serving suggestions:
Heat tortillas for a few seconds in the microwave to soften. Layer grated cheese, caramelized onions, fajita vegetables, and sour cream onto tortilla. Fold and serve with tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole.

Summer Staple: Zucchini Fritters

I stumbled across this recipe in a magazine someone gave me. I'm not even sure what magazine it was, but this recipe is one of my all-time favorite dishes to make in the summer. It appears to originally come from a cookbook called Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson. There is nothing better than stepping outside in the summer and picking all of these ingredients fresh from the garden.




Je ne peux pas vivre sans: Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:
2-3 zucchini, coarsely grated
6 or so green onions or scallions, finely chopped
6-8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped
2 sprigs fresh mint, chopped
6-8 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. paprika
3 eggs, lightly beaten
scant 1 cup all purpose flour

2-3 limes
sour cream

Directions:
1. Coarsely grate zucchini and place in a colander. Lightly salt and toss to mix. Place colander over a plate or in the sink and allow zucchini drain for approx. 30 minutes.
2. Once zucchini has drained, squeeze excess moisture out of zucchini with a clean kitchen towel. Place zucchini in a mixing bowl.
3. Add crumbled feta, chopped mint, dill, parsley, scallions, and flour to the bowl. Mix ingredients together. Add beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour a little olive oil onto a skillet. (I like to use Persian Lime Olive Oil for extra punch.)
5. Drop large spoonfuls of the mixture onto the heated skillet. Flatten them with a spatula or the back of a spoon so that they are roughly the size and shape of small pancakes. Cook patties until golden brown on each side.
6. Transfer to plates and serve with lime wedges and sour cream. Spritz fritters with lime juice as you eat.