Lesson Plan: Single Girl's Lasagna

One of the things I love about living on my own is having total control over the kitchen. No awkward tango with roommates (who I love and miss dearly) in the tiny apartment kitchen. No changing what I'm making for a hulking (now ex)boyfriend that hates mushrooms.

It's all about me and what I am craving at that moment. Although it makes me feel a little bit selfish saying it, it's awesome. Sorry, I'm not sorry.

Cooking for one can be tricky though. Certain dishes are more appropriately prepared for a crowd. Like, lasagna, for instance. But, in this past year of being super-single, as I like to call myself, I have a couple of tricks that help me taper these recipes down to a perfect single-girl size.

So, without further ado, today's lesson, class, is lasagna. Single girl-style.

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Lesson: Single Girl's Lasagna (makes 2 servings)
                (vegan, gluten-free, low fat, low cal, budget friendly; see accommodations section for suggested   
                     modifications)
Necessary Materials:

•  one small eggplant
• 1 zucchini
• 1/3 bolck of extra firm tofu
• ~cup jarred tomato sauce (I used Classico Tomato and Basil. Use your favorite)
• garlic powder, italian seasoning, red pepper flake
• 2 ramekins
• mandoline slicer or sharp knife

Procedures:
1) Wash veggies, peel eggplant and use mandoline to slice them into thin slices.
    If you don't have a madoline, used a sharp knife to slice the veggies into ~1/8 in slices.

 2) Slice tofu into 6 thin slices and press between paper towels.

 3) Layer.
      Starting with a bit of sauce, begin layering the ingredients. I did sauce, zucchini, sauce, egglant, sauce, crumbled tofu, etc. I like sauce.

 On top of the tofu, sprinkle the seasonings.

 Finish the layering with a layer of sauce.

 4) Bake at 350 for about 40 min.
    I baked mine in my little convection/toaster oven , but a conventional oven would work also.

 5) Top with nooch, and enjoy!

Yummmmm!

Accommodations:
- If you are a meat/cheese eater, you could replace the tofu layer with a couple of your favorite stuffed ravioli.
    I used to do this for my ex-boyfriend, and he loved it. It's an easy way to add in the pasta and cheese      
    or meat with out having to cook the noodles. Ravioli layer really well, too!
- Also, add in layers of cheese (vegan mozz or dairy cheese if you want).
     I would have loved to add some daiya mozz, but I didn't have any, and on my budget, it wasn't 
     really an option.
- Add in whatever veg you have on hand.
     Thin sliced mushrooms would have been a great addition.
Assessments:
     I think this recipe was a great success! It was a lightened-up-for-summer version of the Italian comfort food I was craving. I have also recently developed a dislike for eggplant (it's a texture thing), and with this one, I was able to not waste it and disguise it in a tasty tomato-basil sauce costume. The best part, it made 2 perfectly-sized portions for dinner tonight and leftovers for tomorrow. It reheated beautifully.
       Overall, I give this one a solid A!

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On another note, I am spending the next 4 days babysitting hanging out with my Rabbi's (who is also a close family friend) 13-year-old son while the parents are out of town. Someone tell me, what am I supposed to do with this kid! Hopefully we can hit up a Red's game and the pool. Eh, at least it's some solid money to get me through the rest of the summer.

Here's to embracing single-girl life, and making the best of doing what's best for me more a change!

~ Rach

Screaming "Summer!": Italian-Style Lentil Loaf

It's sweltering outside. Temperatures in the low 90s.

Perfectly sunny sky. And, I just finished cleaning 30 chairs out in the garage.

It's safe to say I'm *schvitzing*. Sweating my balls off, if you will.

Sounds like the perfect time for some hearty, home-cooked, comfort food, right?

Eh, not exactly. Normally, I would have been wanting something cool and refreshing for dinner, but tonight, I had one thing on the brain. Meat Lentil Loaf. For no explicable reason. I had found a recipe that I wanted to change (always), and it's one of my Dad's favorite meals. Done and Done.

Lesson: Italian-Stlye Lentil Loaf

Materials:

• 2 c. cooked lentils
• 1.5 c. old fashioned oats
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• .5 c shredded zucchini
• .5 c shredded carrot
• 2 flax eggs
• 3/4 c jarred tomato sauce (I used Classico Tomato and Basil)
• as much as you like- dried basil, oregano, and parsely (feel free to use fresh if you have it)
• salt and pepper

Activities and Procedures:

• Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a loaf pan.
• Sauté the onions and garlic until soft, about 5 min.
• In a food processor, blend 1 c of both the lentils and oats until roughly ground. (This is personal preference- however fine you want it.
• Empty this into a bowl and combine with remaining lentils and oats. Add the cooked onions and garlic, zucc and carrots, and 1/2 c of the tomato sauce and stir to combine well.
• Dump it all in the pan, and cover with the remaining tomato sauce.
• Bake that sucker for about 4 min.
• Let stand for 10 min before cutting in so that it can get solid again.
• Enjoy!

This was a mighty tasty one, and a homerun with the Pops. He likes my vegan cooking but often complains that it isn't substantial enough. This one though was perfect for him. A great combo of protein and carbs. And, warm and comforting.

I enjoyed mine along with some crispy salad, steamed greenbeans, and some more, sriracha-spiked tomato sauce. Hit the spot! And the veg kept it light and cool for summer. A delightful dinner!

Here's to enjoying some awesome- and unseasonal- dishes on the parents' tab!
~ Rach

Baking Sorta' Success

I had one of those random moments today where I just wanted to bake. Yes, I could (and probably should) have been studying for finals or working on my lesson for tomorrow or napping, but my heart wanted to spend my downtime in the kitchen.

Now, I will never claim to be an all-star baker but I stumbled upon this recipe for Genius Blondies over at Chocolate Covered Katie, and I was intrigued. I've always loved using beans in baked goods, especially black bean brownies, but a blondie without flour? Interesting, very interesting.

I tried to follow her recipe pretty closely since I know my baking defeats have come as a result of my inability to do so. She noted that the peanut butter could be subbed for another fat, and since I only have about 1/4 cup left which is, obviously, reserved for my morning oats, I used an avocado instead. I think it worked out pretty well keeping things light. I was hoping it would turn them green, but alas, no fun colors were reached. I also subbed the choco chips with a bunch of cinnamon since I didn't have any chips and I freaking love cinnamon.

 Ingredients ready to go. Yep, there's flour there. Totally forgot about the no-flour part of the recipe. It was super easy to throw together. Just buzz the whole lot in the food processor and smush it in the pan.

 Didn't have the right size pan either. But the batter (can you call it that with no flour?) was super thick, so this worked just fine.

 Fresh out of the oven, so far so good.

 When I sliced into it, though, I got a little nervous. The texture was unexpected, and I was worried. First bite, though, and I was intrigued. It's definitely more of a fudge-y texture than a blondie, but it was nicely sweet and I loved the addition of the cinnamon.

My roommates taste-tested them too, and they really liked them! They make fun of my terrible vegan baking, so it was exciting that they actually enjoyed these. I don't think they'll be hanging around too long on our counter! I decided on a grade of B for these. I think chocolate chips may have made them perfect.

A topping of peanut butter makes everything even better. (Please excuse the horrible nails. I don't even know how it's possible that it chipped like that)


Here's to wasting time with unnecessary fun stuff!
~ Rach

You Win Some, You Lose Some

I seriously love Wednesdays. 

I have no class, so I get to spend the whole day with myself, doing things that make me happy and getting things done for the last 2 days of the week. Normally, I like to be with people, but Wednesdays are my days to unwind and hangout with me.

Felt pretty good today.

I got up and had a leisurely breakfast before heading to the coffee shop to get some work done. I came home around 11 and changed for the gym, where I had a great, sweaty work out. Today was one of those days where I completely zone out and before I know it, almost an hour has past. It felt awesome.

I came home, made lunch and met my friend at the library to do some maj-oh studying for out Linguistics exam tomorrow. We knocked it out, and I was home at the perfect time to get to cookin!

As always, I loved spending time in the kitchen today. It really is my favorite part of my day. And, as always, I had some successes and some failures. Let's start with the good:

I have been getting kind of bored with my dinners. Don't get me wrong, I love my stir fries and plates of roasties, but alternating between the two is getting old. Solution? SOUP! I decided to use my veggies in a gigantic pot of Italian-style veggie soup.

Yes, our pots and pans are pink. College-girl style.

I promise, it's way more delicious than it looks. Created "Rach-style" a.k.a. throw sh!t in a pan/pot and season till it tastes good. Seriously, I can't follow recipes for the life of me. My mom always asks me to write things down I cook at home, and I really couldn't even tell you how much when in there. In the mix this time:

• onion
• carrots
• cabbage
• 1/2 a teeny butternut squash
• broccoli
• canned (no salt) tomatoes
• TJ's low-sodium veg broth
• seasonings: red pepper flake, garlic salt, pepper

I ate this x2 along side some Mary's Gone crackers.

Holy crap, this hit the spot! Maybe because I had been dreaming about it all afternoon, but I'm holding it's because it really is that good. And, better yet, leftovers for the rest of the week!

To continue my cooking mood, I set out for something sweet. Again, I have been dreaming lately about pumpkin bread, and finally had the time to bake some up tonight. I found an easy recipe and set about it.

The batter was tasty. Lot's of pumpkin. Not too sweet. Then it hit the oven...

 55 minutes at 350* later, and this was what I got. It literally didn't rise at all! I have no idea why! I followed the recipe... well, sort of. Like I said, my process is to throw things together and see how they turn out. Every time I bake, I learn the same lesson: baking doesn't work like this. I know, but I will always want to try again. Maybe, I should just face the music that I am not a baker. Haha, fat chance. It just makes me want to try again.

 Cutting into it, I got a texture that can only be described as "gloppy". Dense, hard, gooey. Not what I was going for.

 After I slathered it with a little Earth Balance, it didn't taste too bad. But, then again, what doesn't taste good with some EB melted on top. 

Well, that one went strait to the trash. Not even worth the space it would take up on the counter. Eh, you win some, you lose some. I'm only bitter that I wasted a can of pumpkin. Oh the horror! The silver lining, I have just about enough leftover to make some pumpkin oats in the morning!

Here's to winning some, losing some, and laughing at ourselves!
~ Rach 

Weekend Wrap Up (2/4-2/5)

This weekend was kind of fantastic. Like really great. After the mediocrity that was this week, it was the perfect thing to pull me out of my midterm-week/time-of-the-month/senioritis-I-don't-want-to-do-any-school-work-at-all slump. That might have been TMI. Sorry I'm not sorry. You know exactly the feeling I'm talking about.

Cue the highlight reel:

After a movie night in with my roommate, Allie, Saturday morning started off perfectly with some oats with blackberries in an almost empty jar of PB. Mmmmm Mmmm!

My friend, Taylor and I hit up the Athens Farmers Market and luckily, the weather was pretty nice, so there was a pretty good showing. It was also great to hang out with Taylor again because we hadn't had time to catch in a while.

Delicious Gold Rush apples. Have you ever tried these? They are tart and sour and perfect. And some spicy chipotle salsa.

 Saturday afternoons my friend Brittany teaches Zumba at the rec, so I definitely hit that up this week. Then did 5 sweaty, delightful miles on the elliptical and was ready to go out with my girls for the night.

We went on a little roomie date to one of the coolest bar/restaurants in Athens, Casa Nueva. Always a fave. I'm sure I will be writing more about it soon to come. I indulged in some delicious brews. They always have good stuff on draft. Then, to accompany my beans, rice, 2salsas and lettuce bowl, I had to go with their house margarita. On the rocks, no salt. As always. Seriously, the perfect combo.

Extra spicy with their chipotle-hot salsa and salsa verde. Pairs perfectly with tequila. Just sayin'.

And now, Super Bowl Sunday!!! Yea, too bad I couldn't care less about the football game. But, my friends are all getting together at one house to watch the game and eat snacks and hang out, and I am all about that. My contribution: Boyer Beer Bread. Recipe courtesy of my ex's amazing mother. This lady knows her baked goods. 

Hot out of the oven. Disappointing picture. NOT disappointing bread.

 Boyer Beer Bread

• 3 cups self-rising flour (or 3 cups flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1.5 tsp salt) I used whole wheat because that is what I had
• 1/3 c sugar
• 12 oz. beer I used a can of Budweiser
• 3 tbs melted butter I used soy free Earth Balance

Mix everything but the butter in a bowl. Dump it in a greased loaf pan and top with melted butter. Bake at 350 for about 50 min. Doesn't get easier than that. And damn, it's good.
 

Even better with more melty Earth Balance

Even though I am not looking forward to all of the studying I have to do after the game tonight, I am so ready to start fresh this week. Bring it on! And LET'S GO.... wait. Who's even in this game tonight? Eh, who cares.

Happy Sunday!
- Rach