Tofu-Tempeh Dip

You can easily make this vegan by substituting vegan cheese and mayo.

Tofu-Tempeh Dip

1 block (12 oz.) extra-firm tofu
1 block multigrain tempeh
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup mayonnaise
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup diced dill pickles
10-20 sprays bragg's liquid aminos
1/4 cup salsa
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. white whine vinegar
2 Tbsp. hemp seeds
2 tsp. salt
Olive oil or butter

Cut tempeh into cubes and boil 10-15 minutes. In olive oil or butter, saute crumbled tofu with liquid aminos until golden brown. Combine all ingredients and mix until well-combined. Serve chilled with crackers.

Garlic-Parmesan Potatoes au Gratin

This pairs wonderfully with Herb-Braised Chicken.

Garlic-Parmesan Potatoes au Gratin

5-10 medium potatoes
2 cups of milk
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Slice potatoes in 1/4-inch slices. Prepare a 12-inch square baking pan by cutting a clove of garlic in half and rubbing the cut side all over the inside of the pan. Let dry, then rub the inside of the pan with olive oil. In a medium saucepan, combine potatoes, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, at 400F for 45-60 minutes.

Herb-Braised Chicken

This was part of a delicious dinner I cooked earlier this week. I haven't been doing a lot of creative cooking lately, and this was a pretty standard meat-potatoes-vegetable dinner that still managed to taste extraordinary.

Herb-Braised Chicken

2 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
4 sun-dried tomato halves, soaked in 1 cup warm water
10 pistachios, shelled and coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. pine nuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup water

Begin by soaking the tomato halves in warm water. While they soak, chop herbs, onion, and nuts, and trim fat from chicken breast, if desired. Heat olive oil in a skillet with a lid. Saute onion and herbs for a few minutes until onion begins to soften and herbs wilt. Add chicken and cover. Cook 3-5 minutes until browned on one side. Flip to other side and cook, with lid on, another 3-5 minutes until the second side is browned. Add the soaking water from the tomatoes plus 1 more cup of water. Cover and cook until chicken is fully cooked (about 10 minutes). Replace water if it gets dry. Slice into thin slices and sprinkle with chopped pistachios, pine nuts, and tomatoes. Serve with garlic-parmesan potatoes au gratin.

A New Way to Taste the Rainbow :)

What better way to make sure you get all your colorful fruits and vegetables than to drink them?! Just so I know I'm getting a well-rounded share of nutrients, I decided I'm going to have a different color juice every day of the week. I made all my juices for two weeks and put one week's store in the freezer. I've got green, yellow, orange, red, and purple, plus white (coconut milk) and a random mixture for day seven. Here's my beautiful rainbow:



Green Juice:
1/2 cucumber
1 apple
1 pear
1 handful spinach
1 handful carrot tops
Juice of 1 lime

Puree in blender on highest speed with enough water to blend. Strain through muslin cloth and add water to make 4 cups.

Yellow Juice:
1 mango
1/2 pineapple
Juice of 2 lemons

Puree in blender on highest speed with enough water to blend. Do not strain. Add water to make 4 cups.

Orange Juice:
2 carrots
1 mango
Juice of 3 oranges

Puree in blender on highest speed with enough water to blend. Strain through muslin cloth and add water to make 4 cups.

Red Juice:
1 beet
1 cup raspberries
10 strawberries
1/2 cup cranberry juice
Juice of half a lemon

Puree in blender on highest speed with enough water to blend. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and add water to make 4 cups. Add agave nectar to taste, if desired.

Purple Juice:
1 packet frozen acai pulp
1/2 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
5 strawberries

Puree in blender on highest speed with enough water to blend. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and add water to make 4 cups.

Roast Pork with Sake-Beet Reduction

This was last night's dinner, and it was a roaring success! The only objection I can think of is that it kind of looks like the pork is bleeding, lol. It could maybe use a little thickening, but with what, I'm not quite sure. Maybe I'll tinker a little. Anyway, here it is:

Roast Port with Sake-Beet Reduction

1 Pork Loin Roast
2-3 fresh beets
1/4 cup Sake
1 Lemon
Granulated Garlic
Salt
Pepper
2 Tbsp. Butter

Preheat oven to 450F. Rub roast with salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Place in roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 250F and roast until thermometer inserted in several places in roast reads 155F, about 60 to 90 minutes. Remove roast from oven and let it rest, loosely covered, 15 minutes. While pork is roasting, peel beets and blend in blender with 1 cup water until pureed. Strain through a muslin cloth. Gently boil (being careful that it does not boil over) until reduced by half. Add salt to taste and juice of half a lemon (reserving the other half for garnish). When roast is out of oven, add the pan juices to the beet sauce, along with sake. Boil gently for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add butter, stirring to melt and thicken sauce slightly. Serve over pork.


Here's the finished product:

Hummus - Chip Dip of the Gods

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this one.It was late, and I was tired and hungry. The bottom line is: I made hummus! And it was surprisingly easy. Here's how I did it:

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4-1/2 cup tahini (depending on taste - I like a lot)
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon salt (you can use less - I love salt)
Juice from half a lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid, and chop the garlic. In a food processor, process all ingredients until smooth and delicious! You can add some of the reserved liquid if it is too thick. Well, that's pretty much it :)

Mommy Makes Milk! - Part Three

Yep,yep, I'm at it again. This time, I've made coconut milk, and it is so easy! You just use dried coconut, so you don't have to mess with the fresh one (not so fun). All you need is:

1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
4 cups hot water

Empty the coconut into a bowl

and pour 2 cups of hot water over it.

Let it sit about an hour. Reach in and squeeze the coconut shreds a few times to help get out as much "milk" as possible, then put the whole mess into a blender and blend on highest speed for about a minute. Strain through your trusty muslin bag, squeezing to get out all the water. You will be left with coconut shreds.

Now,take that coconut and put it back into the bowl, adding 2 more cups of hot water. You can get even more milk this way. Let it sit a few minutes, squeeze it out, and blend again. Strain it, and add it to the first batch. That's it!

After it gets cold in the fridge some coconut oil will separate out and solidify on the top. You can either spoon it off or just shake it up and drink/use it. It's up to you!

As American As...

That's right...Apple Pie! Raw apple pie, that is. No, seriously. Alright, so this one was only KIND OF a success for me. It definitely needs some tinkering. In reality, I ran out of maple syrup, so the end result was lacking a little in the sweetness department, and I'll admit, the coconut in the ice cream, not a great idea. Maybe it's just not to my taste. But aside from those two little snares, this dessert went pretty well. And I have more pictures for this one so you can see the step-by-step process :)

Raw Apple Pie with Maple-Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients:
For the Pie -
5 granny smith apples
1/2 cup raisins
6 dates, divided
4 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup pecans, divided
1/4 cup cracked wheat
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup raw honey

For the Ice Cream -
2 cups cashews
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 vanilla bean
2 cups water
1 mature coconut

Equipment:
Food Processor
8"X8" baking pan
8" pie tin

Prep:
Soak cashews in 2 cups water for a few hours. Also soak raisins in 1/2 cup water,and soak cracked wheat in 1/2 cup water.

Drill holes in eyes of coconut and drain out water.

Then, crack coconut open and remove flesh, cutting off brown skin that may adhere to it.


Process coconut flesh in food processor until finely ground, then add reserved coconut water and process until blended and as smooth as possible.

To make ice cream:
Drain cashews and save soaking water. Process cashews in food processor until finely ground and mixture begins to stick together. Add water, maple syrup, and scraped vanilla bean and process until smooth. Add coconut mixture and process to blend. Pour into pan and add chopped pecans. Freeze until firm.



To make pie:
Process 1 cup of pecans and 2 dates until finely ground...

Press into bottom of pie tin.

Process 1 apple, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 3 dates, raisins, along with their soaking water, vanilla, maple syrup, and honey.

Peel. core, and slice remaining apples...

and mix with blended apple mixture...

Pour into pie crust. Process remaining 1/4 cup pecans with 1 date and 1 tsp. cinnamon until finely ground. Mix with soaked cracked wheat and sprinkle over apples. Drizzle with a bit more maple syrup, if desired.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably longer.

And there you have it!

Delicious raw apple pie with maple-pecan ice cream. Definitely one to write home about :)

Mommy Makes Milk! - Part Two

As promised, today's experiment was hemp milk. Hemp milk is supposedly one of the most nutritious for you, so of course, I had to try it. I've had commercial hemp milk before, and I wasn't that impressed. It was really thick and very - hemp-like. I know, duh, right? But it was a little strange to me. Now I must say, the homemade stuff - much better! It wasn't as thick, but still had a nice creamy consistency, and tasted lighter and slightly sweet, even without sweetener. I had a bit of a mishap when, as I was almost done straining it, my muslin bag burst open and I had to start over. The lesson - squeeze gently and have patience. The hemp seeds sort of mash up against the muslin and it takes longer to strain than, say, almond milk with its crumbly pulp that allows liquid to flow right through it.

Another nice thing about hemp milk is there's no need to soak the seeds, so not a lot of prep time :) Here's how I did it:

Hemp Milk

1/2 cup hemp seeds
3 cups water

Equipment:
Blender
Muslin bag for straining
4-cup measuring cup or bowl

Place hemp seeds and water into blender and blend on highest setting for 1-2 minutes, until seeds are finely ground and mixture is well-blended and milky. Put muslin bag into measuring cup or bowl and pour in mixture. Strain by gently squeezing and milking the bag until no liquid remains. You will be left with a mash of hemp seed residue on the inside of the bag, like this:



Yum. Ok, so I just rinsed this away, since I don't know if there's anything I can do with it.

And the result:


Yay! Homemade hemp milk in no time at all! Hemp seeds are not cheap - about $21 a pound - but it cost me only about $2.50 to make 3 cups of hemp milk, so not bad really. Cheaper than buying it, and so much tastier!

Mommy Makes Milk!

I know, I know, it's not news that this mommy makes her own milk for her babies, but I'm talking about a different kind of milk. This week's adventures take us into the realm of non-dairy milk substitutes. That's right - nut milk, seed milk, and what-have-you. So far I've made three different types: Almond Milk, Oat Milk, and Sunflower Seed Milk. Each was its own little adventure, and I'm sure there will be more to come...

So yesterday's task was almond milk. It was surprisingly easy. I soaked the almonds overnight in a jar. Actually, I didn't measure the water. I used a jar that was slightly bigger than 2 cups, filled it about 3/4 full with raw almonds, then filled it to the top with water, and let it sit overnight. By morning, the almonds had swelled to fill the jar and there was very little standing water left. I emptied the almonds into the food processor and added another full jar of water (so a 2:1 ratio of water to almonds). I then processed it, strained it, and was left with about 2 cups of milk, to which I added the same amount (2 cups) of water and put it in a jar in the fridge. Here's the breakdown:

Almond Milk

2 cups raw almonds soaked in three cups of water overnight
4 cups water, divided
Optional: vanilla and sugar/honey/agave/sweetener to taste

Equipment:
Food processor
4-cup measuring cup or bowl
Muslin cloth, bag, or nut milk bag (I used 2 squares of muslin, about 1'X1' each, sewed together on two adjacent sides to make an open bag for straining)

Put soaked almonds, along with any soaking water left, into food processor with 2 cups of water. Process until well-blended. Place bag in bowl/measuring cup and pour in mixture. Gather up the ends of the bag and squeeze out the milk. I like to twist the top closed, leaving some air in the bag, and squeezing the mixture up and down, kind of "milking" it, to speed things along, because I'm impatient like that. Once you've gotten out all the milk (there will be about 2 cups, give or take), add the remaining 2 cups of water to the milk and pour it all into a bottle, adding vanilla and sweetener if you'd like.


See? Simple! Once you're done you'll also end up with a bag full of almond pulp, like this:

I'm still working out what to do with this. I may attempt to dry it out and grind it into almond flour. I'll post all about that if it goes well...


Now for today's experiments: Sunflower Seed Milk and Oat Milk

Sunflower Seed Milk

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked in 1 1/2 cups of water for 24 hours
4 cups of water. divided

Equipment:
Food processor
4-cup measuring cup or bowl
Muslin cloth, bag, or nut milk bag (I used 2 squares of muslin, about 1'X1' each, sewed together on two adjacent sides to make an open bag for straining)

Put soaked sunflower seeds into food processor along with 2 cups of water and process until smooth. Strain in bag just like for Almond Milk (above) and add remaining 2 cups of water, then bottle.



Again, you'll end up with sunflower seed pulp...



I have no clue what to do with this!

And the Oat Milk...this was an adventure...

So you have to soak the oats for about 24 hours...easy part. The problem was, unlike the nut/seed milk, you should soak it in the full amount of water you will be using for processing, which make for too much water in my food process, apparently, because it leaked everywhere. I had to process it in 2 batches. You could just cut the recipe in half to avoid this problem. Also, DO NOT use muslin to try and strain this! It will just gum up the bag and stick to everything, and the milk will not be able to strain out. Instead, use a mesh strainer, and don't spill half the oat milk all over the counter like I did :)

Oat Milk

1 cup raw oats
4 cups water

Equipment:
Food processor
fine mesh sieve
4-cup measuring cup or bowl

Soak oats in water overnight. Pour oat/water mixture (use half at a time) into food processor and process until well-blended. strain through a fine mesh strainer, stirring the mixture in the strainer to push the milk through, then bottle.



The wonderful thing about making oat milk is that it leaves you with a by-product of AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS raw oatmeal! Check it out:



I added a little maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins. I never thought I would enjoy eating cold oatmeal, but wow, this was incredible :)

So there it is...the first few trials of homemade milk alternatives in the King household. Stay tuned for more as I venture into the world of hemp milk, the wonder-elixer that apparently is the nectar of the health-food gods...

Raw Spaghetti - Unbelievably Good!

So I know there are tons of recipes out there for raw marinara sauce, but I honestly didn't expect this dish to taste ANYTHING like spaghetti. OMG was I wrong! I cheated and heated it for just a few seconds in the microwave to warm it slightly, because I'm still a little put-off by eating cold spaghetti, but seriously, even cold, it was amazing! I had to have two helpings :)

Raw Spaghetti

3 vine-ripened tomatoes

3 sun dried tomato halves

2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small handful fresh basil leaves

1 small handful fresh parsley

1 date

Juice from ½ lemon

1 clove of garlic

Salt to taste

1 zucchini

Nutritional yeast for garnish (“parmesan cheese sprinkle”)

In food processor, process tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, basil, parsley, date, lemon juice, garlic, and salt until pureed. Slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices, then into 1/8-inch sticks. Top with marinara and sprinkle with nutritional yeast, if desired.

I would have taken a picture, but I ate it so quickly I didn't have time, lol. I was starving! I WILL be making this again, though, so pictures to come!

Lea's Amazingly Raw Carrot Cake

Today was Leonidas's second birthday, so I figured, why not do something out of the ordinary? Why not experiment a little. After all, he's two. He probably won't care if I screw it up anyway, right?

So here it is - tonight's experiment - Raw Carrot Cake. Overall, not bad. A bit of that raw-carrot aftertaste, and really rich, but highly satisfactory :)

Raw Carrot Cake

1 Cup carrot pulp (from juicing 6-8 small carrots)

¼ Cup apple pulp (from juicing 3 small apples)

5 dates

½ Cup raisins

1/3 Cup shredded coconut

1 Cup walnuts

½ Cup almonds

1/3 Cup maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 Cup wheat germ

1 Cup oats

½ Tbsp. coconut oil

Frosting

1 1/2 Cups cashews

¼ Cup water

½ Cup maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ Cup shredded coconut

¼ cup coconut butter

Garnish (optional):

Crushed walnuts

Put walnuts and almonds in food processor and process until finely ground, but not yet butter. Add dates and raisins and process to chop and combine. Add carrot and apple pulp, coconut, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Process to combine. It may become difficult to process completely at this point, so empty everything into a large mixing bowl. Process oats until finely ground, and add to the mixture along with the wheat germ. Mix with your hands until well combined. Press into a small (6”) cake pan (you could use an 8” or 9” cake pan, but will get a flatter cake) and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Unmold onto serving plate.

For the frosting: Soak coconut in water 15 minutes, then drain. Process cashews in food processor until finely ground and mixture begins to form a ball (i.e., becomes “cashew butter). Add water, vanilla, and maple syrup and process until smooth. Add coconut and coconut butter, and process until lightened in color and texture. Top cake with frosting and garnish with crushed walnuts if desired. Refrigerate before serving.

Voila!

Looks good from here. Let's cut it!

OMG! It looks like carrot cake!

And tastes like it, too...pretty much.

Now who will help me finish it?

Raw Dark Chocolate Brownies with Honey-Pecan Icing

Today was a dessert kind of day. Here was my first attempt at raw brownies. It could use a little tweaking - maybe some oats for a bit more chewiness - but overall a success! Here's how I went about it:

Raw Dark Chocolate Brownies with Honey-Pecan Icing

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

5 Dates

½ cup walnuts

½ cup pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup agave nectar

½ cup wheat germ

Icing:

1 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

½ cup pecans

½ tsp. vanilla

In food processor, process walnuts and pecans to a fine powder. Add dates and process until chopped and blended. Add coconut oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, and agave. Process until well-combined. Stir in wheat germ. Pat into an 8” X 8” pan and refrigerate.

For the icing: Process pecans until the mixture comes together in a ball (makes “pecan butter”). Scrape into a medium mixing bowl and add coconut oil, honey, and vanilla. Mix with a hand-mixer until lightened in color and texture, about 3-5 minutes. Refrigerate until spreading consistency. Spread onto brownies and cut into small squares (these are very rich, so keep them small!).

And here's the final product. Yes, my pieces are uneven a placed haphazardly on the plate, because they just don't care, and are bad-ass like that :)

Lea's Fabulous Chicken Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked, diced
1 stalk of celery, cut in half lengthwise then sliced
4 green onions, sliced
1 cup green grapes, quartered
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup homemade mayonnaise*
1 small lemon
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2-4 Tbsp. agave nectar
Salt and pepper to taste
3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

In a large bowl, mix chicken, green onion, celery, apple, grapes, and pecans. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, juice of lemon, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, agave nectar, salt, and pepper. Pour over chicken mixture, combine well, and chill. Serve with crumbled bacon on top.

* You can also use store-bought mayonnaise, but I like to make mine so I can tailor it to this recipe. For the mayonnaise, I put one egg, 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, and a hefty pinch of salt in the blender. Blend, and, with the blender running, very slowly pour in one cup of vegetable oil, drop by drop at first, then more quickly at the end, until it is all emulsified and thickened (and looks like mayonnaise). If you notice oil rising to the top, stop adding the oil for a moment and let it work into the mixture completely before continuing to add more.

Pasta Arrabiata with Sausage

1/2 lb. Bulk Italian Sausage
1 Mayan (Sweet) Onion, sliced
6-10 Garlic Cloves, sliced
1 Large Can Diced Tomatoes
1 tsp. Basil
2-3 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 lb. Whole Wheat Pasta
Olive Oil
Salt
Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and brown sausage. Add onions and cook until they begin to color (about 5 minutes). Add garlic, tomatoes, basil, and red pepper. Cook 10 minutes until sauce has been reduced by 1/3. Cover and cook 5 minutes more until onions are soft. Season to taste with salt. Serve sauce over pasta with parmesan cheese.

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Onions

1 Whole chicken
4-5 garlic cloves
1 large Mayan onion, peeled and quartered
8 medium potatoes, quartered, peel left on
3 cups water
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mince garlic cloves. Clean chicken and loosen skin on breast and legs. Stuff garlic under skin and distribute evenly. Rub entire chicken with butter and place in roasting pan. Surround with potatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Pour water into pan and roast at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Roasted Sweet Onion Potato Salad

I used the left-overs from my roasted chicken with potatoes and onions the night before. If you want to make it without left-overs, just roast quartered potatoes and onions at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

4 roasted potatoes, diced
1 roasted Mayan onion, quartered
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 green onions, diced
1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put the roasted onion in a food processor, along with the vinegar, olive oil, and brown sugar. Process until smooth. Pour over diced potatoes and green onions. Add salt and pepper. Chill at least 1 hour.

Left-Over Chicken Salad

Ok, so last night I made roasted chicken with potatoes and onions, so this is what to do with the left-overs.

1/2 roasted chicken
7-10 green grapes, cut in half
1/2 granny smith apple, diced
1 green onion, diced
1/4 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Dash of red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Take the chicken off the bone and dice. Combine with the grapes, apple, and onion. Add mayonnaise (the amount is up to you, depending on how much mayo you like), vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for at least an hour, and serve on whole wheat rolls.

Tzatziki Sauce

2 cups of yogurt
2 cucumbers
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. dill
Salt

Strain the yogurt through a double thickness of cheesecloth for at least 2 hours. Peel, seed, and dice the cucumbers, sprinkle with salt, and let sit in a colander to drain while the yogurt is draining. Put cucumbers, garlic, yogurt, vinegar, oil, and dill in a food processor or food chopper and process until well combined. Add salt to taste.

Vegetable Lasagne

One box of whole wheat lasagne noodles
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
8 medium-sized mushrooms
1 Mayan (sweet) onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 15-oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
Basil
Olive Oil
13 X 9 inch baking pan

Cook the noodles until done, drain, and lay flat on pieces of foil so they don't stick together.

Cut the zucchini lengthwise in half, then cut in long, lengthwise slices. Do the same with the eggplant. Peel and slice the onion and slice the garlic. Slice the mushrooms. Place the zucchini in one layer on a microwave-safe plate (in batches) and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Do the same with the eggplant and onion, cooking the onion for 5 minutes instead of 3. Set aside with the mushrooms and garlic for assembling the lasagne.

To make the sauce, melt the butter over low heat until melted. Do not disturb the butter while it's melting or it will begin sizzling and might burn. Add the flour and whisk. Cook, whisking occasionally, over low heat for 5 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble: Grease bottom of pan with olive oil. Lay 6 lasagne noodles to cover bottom. Spread 1/2 of the ricotta cheese over the noodles. Layer 1/2 of the eggplant, 1/2 of the zucchini, 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the mushrooms, and 1/2 of the garlic. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and pour over 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat to make another layer. End with one layer of noodles, sauce, mozzarella cheese, and the other 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with basil, cover with foil, and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, uncovering during the last 15 minutes to brown.

This is what's for dinner tonight. Don't try it until I've had a chance to tell you how it turned out, haha! It was actually supposed to have spinach in it as well, but I forgot to put it in. It would probably be a lot better with it, though. I'm seriously, like, really mad at myself for that...