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Dec. 13th, 2008 11:55 pmAs usual I've had a busy week. This time, though, I'm durn well posting something!
Thursday I finally made the lasagna I've been meaning to make for, oh, a week or two. I made the sauce the day before with chopped up onions, caramelized; chopped garlic, ditto; a solid chiffonade of basil, salt, ancho pepper, black pepper, and four cans of crushed tomatoes. I usually use Pastene ground peeled tomatoes, but I got these at WholeWalletFoods and wanted to go through some of our stock. I made about 3.5 quarts of sauce, but hadn't done one of my usuals of adding some tomato paste with an equal amount of water.
Thursday, after many other events, I finally got around to assembling the lasagna, two pans worth. I mixed a 3 pound container of ricotta with a pound (pre-thawed and drained) of Trader Joe's frozen chopped spinach, and grated in a couple of ounces of romano cheese. I added some ancho pepper and a bit of garlic powder for a bit of extra flavor but they ended up blending in. I forgot to put in any eggs but I got lucky this time. I took the three pound tub of fresh mozzarella from the fridge and shredded it as best I could in the food processor. It was not a proper shred, but it was acceptable for purposes of spreading it around.
I did things a little differently: sauce, lasagna noodles (yes, I used the no-boil again), then the ricotta mixture, but I only put a third of the mixture on each layer. Then came the mozzarella, then more sauce, and so on. However, when I was done with the ricotta mix I realized I was low on sauce. I had a quart left and it wasn't enough. So I did the tomato paste and water bit, 12 oz of each, and that did the trick. The top layer of cheese was mozzarella, grana pradano and parmigiana reggiano. Everything went into a 375 degree oven until the cheese on top was lightly browned.
I have been informed alternately that it is the best lasagna I have made, and that it is so horrible that it will be disposed of for me, so I shouldn't force myself to eat any. Heh.
Today I had the whimsical notion of making a lentil soup. I don't usually eat lentil soup and have never made one before in my life, which is why I consider it a whimsical notion. So. I put entirely too much water, over a gallon, into a two gallon pot. I added a few tablespoons of vegetable base, one bay leaf, a pound of lentils, one 6 oz can of tomato paste, a pound of peeled baby-cut carrots, a couple stalks of celery (sliced) and one parsnip (ditto). This I let cook down, and my wife graciously turned down the heat and added water when needed. After getting home from shopping with onions and garlic I added them too, after quickly chopping and frying them that is.
I think it could use a bit more salt, onion and garlic, but I am overall pleased with the results. So are the people who had some for supper. We have nearly two quarts left.
Thursday I finally made the lasagna I've been meaning to make for, oh, a week or two. I made the sauce the day before with chopped up onions, caramelized; chopped garlic, ditto; a solid chiffonade of basil, salt, ancho pepper, black pepper, and four cans of crushed tomatoes. I usually use Pastene ground peeled tomatoes, but I got these at Whole
Thursday, after many other events, I finally got around to assembling the lasagna, two pans worth. I mixed a 3 pound container of ricotta with a pound (pre-thawed and drained) of Trader Joe's frozen chopped spinach, and grated in a couple of ounces of romano cheese. I added some ancho pepper and a bit of garlic powder for a bit of extra flavor but they ended up blending in. I forgot to put in any eggs but I got lucky this time. I took the three pound tub of fresh mozzarella from the fridge and shredded it as best I could in the food processor. It was not a proper shred, but it was acceptable for purposes of spreading it around.
I did things a little differently: sauce, lasagna noodles (yes, I used the no-boil again), then the ricotta mixture, but I only put a third of the mixture on each layer. Then came the mozzarella, then more sauce, and so on. However, when I was done with the ricotta mix I realized I was low on sauce. I had a quart left and it wasn't enough. So I did the tomato paste and water bit, 12 oz of each, and that did the trick. The top layer of cheese was mozzarella, grana pradano and parmigiana reggiano. Everything went into a 375 degree oven until the cheese on top was lightly browned.
I have been informed alternately that it is the best lasagna I have made, and that it is so horrible that it will be disposed of for me, so I shouldn't force myself to eat any. Heh.
Today I had the whimsical notion of making a lentil soup. I don't usually eat lentil soup and have never made one before in my life, which is why I consider it a whimsical notion. So. I put entirely too much water, over a gallon, into a two gallon pot. I added a few tablespoons of vegetable base, one bay leaf, a pound of lentils, one 6 oz can of tomato paste, a pound of peeled baby-cut carrots, a couple stalks of celery (sliced) and one parsnip (ditto). This I let cook down, and my wife graciously turned down the heat and added water when needed. After getting home from shopping with onions and garlic I added them too, after quickly chopping and frying them that is.
I think it could use a bit more salt, onion and garlic, but I am overall pleased with the results. So are the people who had some for supper. We have nearly two quarts left.
