finished product: homemade lasagna with spinach, zucchini, and pepperoni

note that we're all reflected in the teapot...

homemade lasagna with spinach, zucchini, and pepperoni

click on the photos to see them full-sized. matt made the sauce from scratch, as well. i'm very excited for dinner... 375 for 50 minutes. tick, tock, tick, tock.

Vegetarian Baked Beans and Roasted Rutabaga (Chef Matt Post)

I still had some soaked beans leftover from before, and had to come up with a way to use them, so I made some baked beans in the crock pot.

Here's the rundown:

• Pre-soaked pinto beans
• Chopped onions
• Chopped carrots
• Chopped celery
• Minced garlic
• Ketchup
• Brown sugar
• Soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce (omit if you want to be vegan, it contains anchovies)
• Two tablespoons of margarine

All of this I cooked on low for about twelve hours, adding water occasionally to make sure it didn't dry out. It turned out pretty well, although if I'd saved the soaking water for the beans it would have been better and produced a thicker sauce.

Recently in the NYT food section there was a piece about rutabagas. I've never had them before, and my interest was piqued so I had to try them. They're one of those odd vegetables you usually ignore while browsing the produce section, which is a shame, because they're actually pretty tasty.

I bought two decently-sized rutabagas, which the cashier at first rang up as turnips. When I told her that they were rutabagas, she corrected the error and the price dropped by half; be attentive when you're at the register (this is always a good idea).

I peeled off the waxy skin with a sharp knife. Don't bother trying to use a peeler, it is way too hard and thick. I cut them up into one centimeter cubes, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted at 400 degrees for about forty minutes. The taste was pretty similar to turnips, which I also like, but perhaps a bit starchier. Delish!

Here are both finished products, served together for lunch today:

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (Chef Matt Post)

Chef MDL here.

I've been trying to use up things in my pantry and refrigerator, which gave rise to these tasty peppers.

I sauteed an onion in some olive oil and garlic, added some chopped celery and carrots, a finely chopped dried ancho chile. Once things were starting to get translucent, I added a can of chopped tomatoes and some pre-soaked and washed pinto beans, along with some vegetable broth.

After about twenty-five minutes, it was still a bit too wet for the peppers, so I added some quinoa, and simmered for another fifteen minutes.

I then spooned the hot beany business into some peppers, topped with a generous helping of fresh parmigiano-reggiano and baked for twenty minutes at 425.

Mmm.

spinach cheddar chicken bake with vodka sauce

super easy dinner. chicken breast(s), spinach, vodka sauce, cheddar cheese, bake at 450° for 30 minutes. quick & delicious.

sweet potato cheesecake with ginger pecan crust and pralice icing

thank you to sam for bringing me this treat last night!!! sweet potato cheesecake with ginger pecan crust and praline icing, prepared by her mom. holy macaroni, it is ri*dic*ulously good! extremely rich. now i just have to get the recipe from chef marie...

roasted broccoli and cauliflower

cut broccoli and cauliflower into large spears. in a small bowl, mix together, to your liking, olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, crushed garlic, paprika, chili powder, and crushed red pepper. coat spears with mixture, and roast at 475° for 25 to 35 minutes.

doesn't look like much, but tastes *amazing*!!

mom's banana bread, with the addition of chocolate chunks.

1 cup sugar

1.5 cup butter

2 eggs

3 large bananas

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda dissolved in ¼ cup water

½ tsp salt

semi-sweet chocolate, smashed into chunks

heat oven to 350°. cream the butter and the sugar until creamy. add the 2 eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each one. mash bananas, then blend with rest. add flour and salt alternately w/water soda mixture. add chocolate chunks and blend until smooth batter. 70-80 minutes in greased loaf pan.

a nice twist on the original. ;)

whole wheat pizza à la unit

with caramelized onions, spinach, garlic, feta cheese, and olive oil

bake at 550° for 10 minutes on a pre-heated stone.

thank you chef mdl - this was inspired.