last night, aaron and i attemped a stir fry in black bean sauce. it turns out that you can make something unbelievably similar to gravy out of mashed black beans, olive oil, and minced garlic! it didn't turn out like i expected, but was excited by this gravy-making discovery -- mostly on behalf of gluten-free, lard-free-in-2008, lactose intolerant karrot, who eats practically none of the ingredients used to make real gravy: lard, flour, milk, meat grease, etc.
i made my signature 20-minute homemade lasagna on monday night -- with the leftover tofu that we needed to use up. side note: tofu is DISGUSTING. not the taste, but the jiggly qualities. the jiggling gives me the heebie jeebies. i even make aaron clean it up off the counter, and i almost threw up while he was trying to squeeze water out of it into the sink. however, it makes an excellent lasagna. kim and i were supposed to have a lasagna-off while i was home over the summer, but it never materialized. this is good for her, because my 20-minute lasagna would kick her 2-hour lasagna's ass AND i'd be able to watch three episodes of futurama while she was still in the kitchen browning meats and "sweating vegetables." whatever that means.
yes, i think it is funny that i have a signature recipe. i.e. it's the only thing i've ever made on a regular basis outside of boxed macaroni and cheese. i will reveal the secret recipe to you all -- especially tommy out in ireland to impress your many many god-like boyfriends.
you need:needless to say, it will take aaron and i quite a while to eat 117 square inches of lasagna, but it gets even better after marinating in the fridge. you can take a guess at whether this is what i expected from married life.
two jars spaghetti sauce pre-spiced with italian flavors
one box no-bake lasagna noodles
one bag frozen assorted vegetables (i got the mexican mix this time --
broccoli, corn, cauliflower & red peppers and it turned out fine)
one package mozzarella cheese
one package silken tofu OR one tub cottage cheese
one bag frozen spinach
italian spices/garlic
in separate bowl, thoroughly mix together tofu/cottage cheese, 1/2 bag of
frozen spinach & italian spices/garlic.
in your 9 x 13 lasagna pan, layer as follows:
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
layer of noodles
1/2 bag vegetables
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 bag cheese
layer of noodles
spinach mixture
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
layer of noodles
1/2 bag vegetables
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
(you can also buy some frozen chicken chunks and layer them in there
somewhere for a more meaty experience, but i actually prefer
the tofu)
bake covered in foil at 350 until cooked through for 45-55 minutes
while you go do something fun. uncover, add last 1/2 bag of cheese, bake
another 10 or so minutes until cheese melts and browns. let sit for 5
minutes before digging in. enjoy!
perhaps you have noticed that my recipes almost all arise out of finding something in the kitchen that needs to be "used up" before we have to throw it out. kind of like a scavenger hunt! i guess some principles stick with a country girl. we did manage to dispose of two cans of food (string beans and tomato paste -- yuk) this weekend though by donating them to the food bank in exchange for free rides on the ski lift up the san francisco peaks in flag. (you'd never guess we are two responsible adults with decent-paying jobs based on our enthusiasm for free-ish entertainment.)
it was a gorgeous sunny day, as usual in AZ, although it got chilly as we made our leisurely ascent to 11,500 feet. i started getting altitude sickness around 10,500 -- where did my iron stomach go? aaron pointed out the reservation to me: "over there where it's brown." we tried to hike up to agassiz peak, but decided it wasn't worth the $500 fine for hiking off the path and posing a threat to the endangered tundra buttercup that grows up there, so we just enjoyed the sunshine and the view and laughing at all the silly hippies in their skirted hats. another successful day :)
