Roasted Veggie Vegan or Vegetarian Lasagna

Vegetarian version with mozzarella cheese topping 

Vegetable layers:

2 Portobello mushroom tops
1 package of shitake mushrooms
1 large eggplant

1 large yellow onion
2 zucchinis

2 bell peppers (I prefer red, orange, or yellow)
1/2 bunch of lacinato Kale
1/2 bunch of curly green kale (or sub with spinach)

(Really you can use anything you have in the fridge. I have used green beans as one of the layers in the past. Just make sure they are cooked!)

extra virgin olive oil

Dried oregano

Vegan Ricotta:
a bunch of fresh basil (add parsley, oregano or any other herbs you want)

1 pkg. silken tofu

Additional Layers:

1 1/2 jars of tomato basil tomato sauce
1 package of  lentil or rice lasagna noodles

Daiya Foods mozzarella (optional)


This recipe makes a vegan ricotta out of silken tofu and fresh basil. Then layers roasted and raw veggies with uncooked noodles.

Roasted veggies:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare 2 baking sheets with silicon sheet, foil or parchment paper.
3. Chop all vegetables. Eggplant, onion, zucchini, peppers into small bite-sized pieces. 
4. Cut mushroom tops into strips 1/4" to 1/2" thick and slice mushrooms. 
5. Mix mushrooms with 1 tbsp. of olive oil and 1 tsp dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Mix the sheet half way through.
6. Mix eggplant, zucchini, onion, and peppers with 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flip half way through.
7. Chop kale into small ribbons or squares, massage in a bowl with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp. olive oil and set aside in a bowl. (Skip this step if you are using all spinach.)
8. Let everything cool to the touch. You don't want to burn your hands putting this together.

Vegan Ricotta:

1. While the veggies are roasting make the ricotta.
2. Place herbs in a food processor with the package of silken tofu. Use only the tofu and discard any extra liquid.
3. Process until smooth. (Here you can add some nutritional yeast if you prefer, but my husband hates it so I never use it. But if you're familiar - have at it.)

Assemble the Lasagna:

1. Drizzle the baking dish with olive oil or spray with an olive oil or avocado oil spray.
2. Spread the cooked mushrooms at the bottom of the baking dish. I use the mushrooms as the base because they are usually the largest sized veggies.
3. Place 3 or 4 sheets of pasta across the layer of mushrooms. 
4. Lightly spread some tomato sauce (straight out of the jar, use 1/3 jar tops) onto the pasta sheets. 
5. Spread all kale onto pasta with tomato sauce.
6. Spread 1/2 of the eggplant, zucchini, pepper mixture on top of the kale.
7. Place another layer of pasta noodles, but in the opposite direction of the 1st layer you laid down.
8. Spread all of the vegan ricotta on the pasta.
9. Place the remainder of your eggplant/veggie mix onto the pasta layer
10. Place another layer of pasta (in the direction of the first layer) and spread the remaining tomato sauce on top. 
11. Cover with foil or a silicone baking mat, and bake for 45 minutes. 
12. After 45 minute remove top and cover with cheese and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes. If you are skipping cheese, still bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
13. After 1 hour your lasagna should be bubbly on the sides and have nice crispy edges.
14. Let cool for 15 - 20 minutes before dishing out. This will help the layers to stiffen up.

Expansion of the Warrior Quilt by Suzy Quilts

 Two of our nieces graduated from college this year. I just gifted one this quilt that is based on the Warrior Quilt by Suzy Quilts . Usually I don't ask for direction on quilts that I make as gifts, but my niece is creative in her own right and I thought she might have an opinion. She asked for Villanova colors. So I purchased come Villanova Wildcats fabric and incorporated that into the quilt pattern. You'll see that my arrangement is different than Suzy Quilts because I was trying to expand to a larger size than the original pattern. I also incorporated some extra half-square triangles into the back that were left over.

I also did a little variations on the edges as if the pattern is starting to deconstruct. Something about this pattern was yearning for variation, so I started picking it apart at the edges.

Vegan Stuffed Peppers:

I whipped this up last night and so many people asked for the recipe I had to add it to the site today. Feel free to up the spices. I cook without measuring so these measurements are a guess. The heat of your poblanos is always going to be a guess, so if you're afraid of heat don't use the red pepper flakes. If you cannot find poblanos, you could substitute another thin walled pepper like a large cubanelle, if you need to use bell peppers - which are fine just have a thick wall - I recommend cooking longer in the pan on step 6 and to cook on both sides. I also cook for 3 usually - my husband and I for dinner and one serving for my lunch the next day. If you need to serve more people, but don't want to double the recipe, increase the number of peppers and use a larger sweet potato.

Vegan Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Serves 3

Peppers:
3 poblano peppers
4-6 mushrooms - chopped tiny in a food processor
1/2 of a small onion - diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper - diced
1 small sweet potato
fresh corn from 1 ear
1 carrot - shredded
Olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayanne
dash of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red salsa (Trader Joes Salsa Authentica)
fresh tomato
4-6 radishes

sauce:
1 ripe avocado
Juice of 1 lime
6-10 basil leaves

 a small baking pan - I used a 7" x 11" pyrex
cast iron skillet

Cooking the peppers:

1. Reheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray baking pan with olive oil
3. Poke holes in sweet potato and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave.) Set aside to cool.
4. Cut your poblanos in half lenghtwise
5. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron skillet
6. Place the peppers cut side down in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until the edge is cooked.
7. Remove the peppers and set cut side up in the baking dish
8. Add onion to the pan and cook 5-6 minutes until translucent or browned
9. Add chopped mushrooms and cook for 6 more minutes.
10. Add peppers, carrot and corn and cook for 8 minutes.
11. Dice sweet potato and add to the pan along with spices and salsa. 
12. Mix everything together for a minute of two
13. Stuff your peppers, cover with foil, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes to crisp the tops. (If you wanted to add vegan cheese this is when you'd melt it on the top.)
14. Chop the tomato and slice the radishes while it's baking.

Making the Sauce

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. (I have a stick blender with a mini food processor that I used for chopping the mushrooms, so I rinsed it out and used it again.)

Blend until smooth.

Plate it

I placed 2 halves of pepper on each plate and topped with fresh tomato and radish slices and 1/3 of the avocado sauce.

Enjoy!

Down Day Turkey Chili Recipe

Creating recipes for this diet doesn't make beautiful food, I does however create delicious meals. The photographs are not super attractive, but I can assure you, it doesn't feel like you're only eating 185 calories!

Good luck on your Down Days!

Down Day Turkey Chili Recipe

Makes 3 servings, 187 calories

1/2 cup, Onion, Chopped
1/2 cup, Chopped Green Bell Pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 cup, Water
1 tbsp, paprika
1/2 tsp, Basil
1/2 tsp, Oregano
1/2 Cup, Diced Tomatoes - No Salt Added
1 can Pinto Beans
8 oz, Ground Turkey (99% Fat Free)
1 teaspoon, Ground Cumin
1/2 cup frozen corn
6 tbsp, Trader Joe's Salsa Autentica

Using a non-stick pan, cook onion through
Add ground turkey and spices and cook through
Add bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes
Add water, corn, drained beans, canned tomatoes, and salsa
Simmer for 20 minutes to integrate flavors
Separate into 3 servings and serve.

Trying a new dieting plan and Roasted Veggies and Spaghetti Squash Recipe

We have been doing the Up Day Down Day Diet or Alternate-Day Fasting. The basic premise is extreme but it seems to be working. Every other day you only consume 500 calories. This is a nice diet because you know you can eat tomorrow. However, the recipes are really lacking. So I started writing my own.

DD Roasted Veggies and Spaghetti Squash
Serves 4 - 210 calories

4 cup Spaghetti Squash - Spaghetti Squash Cooked
2.5 Cup Zucchini cubed
4 cup, cubes Eggplant, raw
1 Cup, Chopped Red Onion
25 fluid ounce Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
8 oz (112g) Trader Joe's - Lean Ground Turkey 99% Fat Free Corrected
1 tsp Oil - Olive Oil (1 Tsp)
1 Cup Peppers, Red Bell, Generic - Peppers, Red
tbsp dried oregano
tbsp dried basil
fresh ground pepper to taste
Olive oil spray

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cube the eggplant, place in a colander over the sink and salt. Let tenderize for 20 - 30 minutes. Then rinse,

Cube the zucchini, bell pepper and onion.

Place all cubed veggies in a large bowl and mix with the dried basil, oregano, olive oil and cracked pepper. Reserve a few pieces of onion and pepper.
Spray a baking sheet with oil and spread the cubed veggie onto the sheet.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cooked.

Cut the Spaghetti Squash in half and roast cut side down until it's tender. 20 - 30 minutes

Chop the reserved pieces of onion and pepper.

Cook them in a nonstick pan for 5 minutes, Add the ground turkey and cook through. Add the jar of tomato sauce. Simmer while the veggies are roasting.

Once the spaghetti squash is done roasting, shred it into spaghetti.
 Place into a large bowl, add the roasted veggies and pour sauce over the entire bowl.
Mix together and enjoy.

Quilts for Twins

A few years ago we went out to California for a friends wedding. While we were there I took pictures of the center pieces thinking I would make a quilt for the couple using the colors of those centerpieces. I found a free pattern that I thought would be good and saved it to my computer. I bought the fabric shortly after and never got around to making the quilt.(as of 2018 Free Spirit has closed their doors and this pattern is no longer available on the internet - that I can find)

Last August I started grad school and was completely unable to sew for the 8 months of school. So for the summer I vowed I would try to complete the projects I owed myself. So I started sewing.

After sewing all the blocks for the intended wedding quilt, I realized that this was not a color scheme that I would want in my living room and repurposed the blocks into two smaller quilts for some other friends who are having twins.

We don't know what sex the babies will be and the color scheme felt perfect for a unisex blanket set.

Both Twin Quilts after washing. I prefer to wash after completion because then they wrinkly up nicely.

Twin Quilt 1 top

Twin Quilt 2 top

Quilt 2 Details

Perfect pitcher Margarita!

Yesterday was our HUGE annual bash, we always have lots of food, lots of friends, live music, and lots of booze! I conjured up this pitcher of margaritas for the party. I don't like to add sugar to anything and I really don't like anything too sweet so this was my compromise. They were delicious!

1 cup fresh lime juice

1 cup tequila, I like Casamigos

1 cup Contreau

1 quart seltzer

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher. 

Pour over ice and serve!

If you want to make a single serving you can mix the following:
1 part fresh lime juice

1 part tequila, again I like Casamigos though any silver tequila will do.

1 part Contreau

4 parts seltzer

Enjoy!

Blue pitcher of Margaritas at our Circvs Maximvs Party 2015. Photo Credit: Laura Vivenzio