Cheesy Veggie Lasagna with Vidalia Onion Bechamel Sauce

Cheesy Veggie Lasagna with Vidalia Onion Bechamel Sauce

By: Heather McAnerney

1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 Vidalia onion, diced

5 T. butter, divided

6 T. flour

3 ½ c. milk, heated just until steaming

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 carton Ricotta cheese

1 bag frozen spinach, cooked and drained

Red pepper flakes

11/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 bag frozen carrots, thawed and drained or fresh equivalent

2 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced

1 box sliced portabella mushrooms

3 c. grated Italian cheese blend

Olive oil

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce, heated

Give a skillet 2 turns of the pan olive oil. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, and heat together. Add Vidalia onion, and cook over low, allowing the onion to caramelize at a slow rate.

Meanwhile, cook and drain lasagna noodles.

Spread out zucchini slices onto a kitchen towel. Salt with sea salt to bring out moisture, and let drain on towel.

Prepare ricotta filling. Drain cooked spinach, and then squeeze dry in towels and with your hands. Combine the spinach, ricotta, ½ c. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once onion has caramelized, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. While the butter melts, combine flour, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of salt, and black pepper to taste. Cook the flour mixture with the butter and onion mixture for about two minutes. Slowly add the milk, stirring with a whisk as you pour. Heat until thick like gravy. Remove from heat.

Spray a large lasagna pan with non-stick spray. I prefer a Rachaell Ray pan http://www.rachaelraystore.com/Product/detail/Rachael-Ray-Stoneware-9x13-in-Lasagna-Lover-Orange/238292 Spoon a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of the pan. Start layering; noodles, crumbled blobs of ricotta mixture, zucchini – don’t overlap, mushrooms into spaces zucchini leaves, sprinkle of carrot slices, dollops of béchamel sauce, dollops of pasta sauce, layer of grated Italian cheese mix, and repeat 2 more times. The last layer should be ricotta, remaining veggies, grated Italian cheese mixture, lots of béchamel, and then top with 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toasted around the edges and the top is brown.

General Tso's Tofu

General Tso's Tofu is a family favorite at our house. Our self-proclaimed "carnivore" son will eat this willingly! After the brown rice steamed, we stirred in the edible pod sugar snap peas that we received from our farmer. It was just enough heat to get them hot, but keep them crispy. We also used more green onions from our farmer in our tofu sauce. This came from Veg Web website: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8769.0

Here's the recipe with my notes:

General Tao’s Tofu

1 box firm tofu

Egg substitute for 1 egg (powdery substance - easy to find in Asian markets)

¾ c. cornstarch

Vegetable oil for frying

3 chopped green onions

1 T. minced ginger

1 T minced garlic

2/3 c. vegetable stock

2 T. soy sauce

4 T. sugar (substitute Agave Nectar)

Red pepper flakes to taste

1 T. sherry

1 T. white vinegar

steamed brown rice

steamed broccoli or other green veggie

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. In a large zipper bag, mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Put tofu in egg replacer/water mixture in bag and gently shake around to coat completely. Sprinkle ¾ cup cornstarch over tofu mixture in bag and gently shake around to coat completely. 

Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil. This works well in two batches. Keep the first batch warm in the oven while you work the second batch. 

Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.

Serve immediately with steamed brown rice and steamed green veggie. 

Farm Fresh Wilted Greens Salad - our first recipe

Community Supported Agriculture - What to make with our first delivery?
We decided on a modernized version of the classic '70s wilted spinach salad - our own creation Farm Fresh Wilted Greens Salad. We had our own tomatoes from our tomato plant already! We purchased a very mature tomato plant at the KC Food Circle Annual Eat Local Expo.

Ready to cook

Here's the recipe:

Farm Fresh Wilted Greens Salad

By: Heather McAnerney

10 cups tightly packed fresh greens mixture, washed

4 green onions, sliced

Pepper

8 slices bacon

1 Tablespoon brown rice vinegar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Agave nectar

¼ teaspoon sea salt

4 hard-cooked farm fresh eggs, sliced

3 fresh tomatoes, diced

Blue Cheese crumbles, to taste

Place fresh greens into a large bowl; add the sliced green onions. Sprinkle with a lot of fresh ground pepper.

Cook bacon; remove and reserve drippings in skillet. Pour off bacon drippings, leaving a thin layer in the bottom of the skillet. Stir in brown rice vinegar, lemon juice, Agave nectar, and salt. Stir to combine, then pour over greens mixture. Toss to coat.

Top with crumbled bacon, diced tomatoes, and blue cheese.

This huge salad fed my hearty-eating family with a little left over.