Summer Strata with Spinach, Basil & Roasted Garlic Custard

Not too long ago I made this southwest brunch bake for mother's day brunch, but I had initially wanted to make this summer strata. The strata is more work though with caramelizing onions, roasting garlic, washing and cooking spinach, etc whereas the southwest brunch bake is pretty much dump and mix. I don't mind doing the bit of extra work for this strata, but when I had to prepare a few other dishes, I went with the simpler southwest brunch bake! However, this summer strata is super yummy and flavourful, and I'm really happy I tried it out for a weeknight meal. The only thing I'd change is to use less milk, as the bread was a bit soggy for my liking.

Also, I hope you guys didn't miss out on seeing this seriously amazing chile-cheese bread I just posted about. It would be sad if you did because it was one of the best things I've eaten this year!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Southwest Brunch Bake
Savoury Vegetable Cheesecake
Butternut Squash Casserole
Tomato and Corn Pie

Summer Strata with Spinach, Basil & Roasted Garlic Custard
Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

Serves 8-12

Caramelized Onions
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 yellow onions, sliced or diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp minced fresh thyme, sage or rosemary

Filling
1 lb sourdough loaf, cut into 3/4" cubes (I think you can use whatever bread you want here)
2 bunches of spinach, wilted, squeezed and chopped
1 recipe caramelized onions
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (not oil packed)
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese

Custard
6 eggs
3 cups milk (I used 1%, and will use less milk next time)
2 bulbs roasted garlic, mashed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper

Caramelized Onions
1. Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat until the butter begins to foam. Add the onions and stir to coat. Add salt and cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. Sprinkle in the sugar and wine and reduce until the liquid has evaporated. Add stock, vinegar, pepper and herbs. Cook gently until the stock is reduced and the onions reach a creamy texture.

Filling and Custard
1. Prepare all of the ingredients for the filling. Soak the sundried tomatoes until soft, strain and chop coarsely.

2. To make the custard, whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the milk, cream, mashed roasted garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in the bread cubes, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Stir occasionally to ensure that all of the bread is evenly soaked. Stir in the remaining ingredients, reserving half of the grated cheese.

3. Heat the oven to 350F. Butter or oil a 9"x13" baking dish and scoop the bread pudding mixture into it. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese and bake until crusty, golden brown and just set in the middle (about 45 minutes). Let stand for several minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Butternut Squash Casserole

This casserole is by far one of the best casseroles I've ever made and probably one of the best in existence period. I wish there was a really awesome vegetarian casseroles cookbook out there because it's so great to find something that's tasty and makes lots of leftovers for the week. (If you know of such a cookbook, please let me know!) I loved this casserole so much - it was so flavourful and satisfying. It has tons of yummy stuff in it (butternut squash, onions, thyme, pumpkin seeds or pecans, cheese, spinach) and is pretty healthy too. The only thing I'd do differently next time is to use pecans instead of pumpkin seeds, and really you could just leave them out altogether and it would still be amazing.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Tomato and Corn Pie
Feta and Ricotta Cheese Pie
Squash & Aged White Cheddar Tart with Sage and Roasted Garlic Custard

Butternut Squash Casserole
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake who adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Serves 8 to 10 people

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4" pieces (about 6 cups)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan (you could easily reduce this by at least half)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, trimmed, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (toasted if you want, I didn't toast them)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or pecans, toasted
2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 bunch of spinach, washed (add to the same water as the squash in step 2 during the last minute of boiling)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place 3 quarts water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the squash to the water, return to a boil, and cook for 6 minutes. The squash will turn a deeper orange. Drain it and set aside.

3. Melt the butter in the stockpot and add the oil. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent and limp, about 8 minutes, stirring to prevent browning. Add the warm squash and the milk, eggs, thyme, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds and 1 1/3 cups cheese. Blend with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients are well combined.

4. Spread the mixture evenly in a 9x13" baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds and 2/3 cup cheese. Bake 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Spaghetti with Spinach Cream Sauce

This is another successful recipe I've made from New Vegetarian Cuisine. Admittedly the recipe calls for low fat or reduced fat ricotta cheese but I really can't stand low fat cheese. The taste is so muted and bland and I always end up adding more so I may as well just eat the real thing and enjoy it! I modified this recipe to add in extra vegetables (zucchini and asparagus) and less pasta. Which reminds me that I should go buy some more asparagus while it's around - and corn! Mmmm. Oh and I should mention that this is not your typical heavy cream sauce - it's a lighter version made with skim milk and ricotta cheese.

When I saw Abby like this it took a second to realize where her head was.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Asparagus and Feta Pasta
Spinach Artichoke Heart Dip
Black Bean Chilaquile
Spinach Balls

Spaghetti with Spinach Cream Sauce
Adapted from New Vegetarian Cuisine

Serves 3-4.

1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup skim milk, divided
2 tsp oil
1/2 cup diced onions
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 zucchini, sliced into half moons
15 asparagus spears, cut into 1-2" pieces
1 1/2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
7 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
Salt to taste

1. In a food processor, blend the ricotta, lemon peel, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of the milk.

2. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the oil. Stir in the onions; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the ricotta mixture, spinach, zucchini, asparagus, Parmesan and the remaining milk. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, cook the spaghetti for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain, Place in a serving bowl. Add the spinach sauce; toss to mix.

Spinach Balls

I came across these spinach balls in ExtraVeganZa and thought they sounded interesting and different, and they were. I wouldn't say they're a super favourite thing but they're something new to try, and would be great to freeze and have on hand for when you don't have any time but want something healthy.

Overall I'm not sure what to think of ExtraVeganZa yet. So far I've only made the wild rice almond cherry pilaf and these, and both were okay but nothing spectacular. There are a lot of baking recipes in there though that I need to try out, like a recipe for spelt dinner rolls. Anyone have a favourite recipe from this cookbook they can recommend?

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce
Spinach Walnut Pesto
Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli
Spaghetti and Bean Balls with Onion & Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce

Spinach Balls
Adapted from ExtraVeganZa

The onion powder was fairly strong so I would cut back on it next time.

225 g (9 oz) frozen spinach, thawed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 pieces whole wheat bread, toasted & ground into crumbs
3/4 cup ground almonds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp onion powder

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the spinach and onion in a food processor and blend on high until a coarse paste begins to form. Add the bread crumbs, 3/4 cups ground almonds, oil, soy sauce, rice flour, dill and onion powder, then blend again until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Use a small cookie scoop (or larger, depending on the ball size you want) to scoop out balls. Place on a prepared baking sheet (with parchment or a silpat, etc). Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the balls to cool on the sheet. Serve warm.

Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce

Here's another healthy recipe from Moosewood. I rarely eat cottage cheese (okay I don't think I've eaten it even once in probably 10 years) so I wasn't sure how this would turn out but I was really happy with the dish. The low-fat cottage cheese makes the sauce creamy while adding lots of protein and not much fat. And I discovered that yes cottage cheese does taste good! Especially if it's in the large curd form. Anyway I guess this dish could be thought of as a kind of creamy pesto. Next time I'll add something else to it like sauteed mushrooms or some extra chopped walnuts. The only bad thing is that it's not very good reheated.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Black Bean Chilaquile
Soba Noodles with Zucchini Ribbons
Spinach Walnut Pesto
Portabello Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Peppers & Romano Cheese

Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

My adaptations were small - extra garlic (2 instead of 1 clove), 300 grams frozen spinach instead of 10 ounces fresh, less salt, and freeze dried basil instead of fresh (though the fresh basil can easily be replaced by a tablespoon or so of dried.)

300 g frozen spinach
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup freeze dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 lb pasta

1 head broccoli (optional extra vegetable)

Bring a large covered pot of water to a rapid boil.

If using fresh spinach, wash it and steam it. (Cover and cook the spinach on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, until wilted but still bright green, drain.) If using frozen spinach, thaw in the fridge (if you have that much foresight!) or in the microwave. Drain. In a food processor or blender, combine the spinach, walnuts, cottage cheese, garlic, Parmesan, basil, and salt and puree until smooth, working ni batches if necessary. Add pepper to taste and set aside.

When the water boils, stir in the pasta, cover and return to a boil. Then uncover the pot and cook until the pasta is al dente, about 7 minutes. While the pasta cooks, cut the broccoli into spears, blanch it in boiling water to cover until just tender, about 5 minutes and set it aside. Alternately, steam the broccoli. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Add several steamed broccoli spears.

Black Bean Chilaquile

I love the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook because I can flip through it and pick practically any recipe knowing that it's vegetarian and healthy. Not everything I've made from it has been awesome and some things have been just okay, but there have also been some things that turned out quite yummy like this one. One of my favourite things to do is sit down and look through cookbooks cover to cover, but when it comes time to making a grocery list an hour before I want to go grocery shopping, I hate it. It's impossible for me to find recipes I want to make under a time constraint - I'm always thinking I have to pick recipes that use different vegetables and different proteins, providing me with a wide variety of nutrients. Too much pressure! But if I were to just be looking at the same cookbook for pleasure I'd most likely be tagging tons of recipes.

Anyway, I realize now that maybe the picture looks like a big glop of something but you can see that on top is a layer of chips/sauce/cheese, and there's a layer of vegetables/spinach/beans, etc.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Baked Bean Soup
Santa Fe Pasta Salad
Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad

Black Bean Chilaquile
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

My modifications were to use only 1/2 tsp salt, just chop up an onion instead of measuring it to be 1 cup, and using frozen spinach instead of 2 cups fresh. I made the blender hot sauce, recommended and given in the cookbook, but I think you could just use whatever salsa you have on hand. I'll add the recipe for the blender hot sauce below, but I didn't find it that amazing on its own. Mixed into the chilaquile it was yummy though.

Serves 4 to 5

1 onion, chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (15 oz can, drained)
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
300 g frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or 2 cups fresh rinsed, stemmed and chopped Swiss chard or spinach)
2 cups crushed baked tortilla chips
8 oz grated sharp Cheddar cheese (low/reduced fat if you want)
2 cups salsa or blender hot sauce (see recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Saute the onions in the oil for about 8 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, black beans, lime juice, salt, and pepper and continue to saute for another 5 to 10 minutes, until just heated through.

If using fresh spinach, otherwise use this time to thaw out the spinach by microwaving it a bit: In another saucepan, blanch the greens in boiling water to cover for 1 to 3 minutes, until just wilted but still bright green. Drain immediately and set aside.

In an 8x8 casserole dish or baking pan, spread half of the crushed tortilla chips on the bottom. Spoon the sauteed vegetables over the tortilla chips and sprinkle on about two-thirds of the grated Cheddar. Arrange the greens evenly over the cheese and spoon on half of the salsa. Finish with the rest of the tortilla chips and top with the remaining salsa and Cheddar. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.

Blender Hot Sauce

I omitted the 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro.

1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 or 2 fresh green chiles, seeds removed for a milder "hot"
5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
4 cups chopped fresh or 3 cups chopped canned tomatoes with their juice (28 oz can)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt to taste

In a blender or food processor, combine the onions, peppers, chiles, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, coriander, and oregano and puree until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a soup pot and simmer on low heat, uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the flavors have mellowed. Stir often as it cooks and use a heat diffuser if needed, to prevent sticking. Add salt to taste.

Hot sauce will keep for about 2 weeks, refrigerated and tightly covered.

Portabello Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Peppers & Romano Cheese

My exams are finally over! I'm free for the summer to bake lots of yummy things and balance them out with many other healthy things. And to have the freedom to read food blogs again! Thank you everyone who wished me luck with my finals. :)

This recipe has a lot of parts to it and might seem a bit complicated, but it's not too bad and it's definitely worth it! To quote what I wrote on the page for this recipe in the cookbook, "sosososoSO good!! perfect. make all the time! yum etc!! truly spectacular". As you can see, I really fell in love with this pasta dish and I plan to make it many more times. Though it's not the healthiest, at least it involves a variety of vegetables! I tried to organize the recipe as best I could (because it comes from several pages in the cookbook) but if it's confusing, let me know.

Portabello Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Peppers & Romano Cheese
Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

Serves 2-3

1/2 lb whole wheat fettuccine
2 portabello mushrooms, marinated and roasted (Recipe below)
2 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted and peeled
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, julienned
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh basil*
1 recipe spinach pesto (Recipe below)
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 400F. Put the marinated mushrooms in an oven safe dish. Slice the bell peppers in half and seed them. Place them cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast the mushrooms and peppers (separately) for about 15 minutes (long enough for the skin to blister on the peppers). Remove the mushrooms and peppers from the oven. Transfer peppers to a bowl and cover with a plate or lid for 10 minutes - this makes it easier to peel off the skin (though you can leave the skin on if you want). Peel the skin off.

Heat a large pot of boiling water to cook the pasta. Slice portabello mushrooms and roasted peppers into long, thin strips and set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet and saute the onion until translucent. Add the mushrooms, peppers, and cherry tomato halves, toss to heat through and keep warm over low heat. Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine.

Strain the pasta and toss with enough pesto to liberally coat the noodles. Add the vegetables and basil and toss to combine. Divide among 2 pasta bowls, sprinkle with Romano cheese and toasted pine nuts.

*I used the same amount of freeze dried, though fresh is best. If you want to use dried, maybe do a couple of tablespoons.

Marinated Portabello Mushrooms

2 portabello mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 cup white wine
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Clean mushrooms and lay gill-side up in a shallow pan. Whisk together the marinade ingredients, pour over the mushrooms, cover and marinated in the refrigerator up to 4 hours.

Spinach Pesto

1 cup spinach, packed (or use a frozen package of spinach, thawed with the water squeezed out as I did)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 clove fresh garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chile flakes
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Pulse all ingredients, except oil, to form a coarse paste. Add oil and pulse to blend. Keep refrigerated if not using right away.

Spinach Walnut Pesto with Smoked Tofu & Whole Wheat Rotini

I love trying out different variations of pesto and since fresh basil is only available for a limited time every year (which makes me very sad), I try to find decent substitutions. This pesto surprised me with how well it turned out. The bit of freeze dried basil that I added gave the pesto enough basil taste for a person to not be able to tell that it wasn't made with basil. I was happy that it tasted like regular pesto even thought it's made with spinach instead of basil, walnuts instead of pine nuts, and no Parmesan cheese. I added some ground flax seeds (I was adding them to everything for a while) and smoked tofu (which was a bit overpowering when eating the leftovers). The raw garlic made the pesto a bit spicy, so next time I'd either use half as much or maybe roast it. Overall a great discovery and a recipe I will make again. And full of healthy spinach!

Oh and if you have yet to try smoked tofu, you must make every effort to find it! The taste and texture are similar to smoked gouda, at least to me. My mom who isn't a big fan of tofu really likes it, so it could be a good way to get non-tofu lovers to eat tofu and/or as a "gateway" tofu product.

Spinach Walnut Pesto with Smoked Tofu & Whole Wheat Rotini
modified from Quick-Fix Vegetarian

makes about 1 1/2 cups, serves 2-3 when with pasta

3 cups fresh spinach
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup walnut pieces
1 tbsp freeze dried basil
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil or walnut oil

1 block of smoked tofu (about 8 oz)

Cook your favourite whole wheat pasta (I'm sorry I can't remember how much I cooked, but if you have leftover you can make pasta salad?).

Meanwhile, steam the spinach over boiling water for 1 minute, or wilt it in a covered bowl in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Mince the garlic with the salt in a food processor. Squeeze any moisture from the spinach and add to the food processor along with the parsley, basil, flax seeds and walnuts. Puree until smooth. Add the olive oil gradually and process to a smooth paste.

Cut up smoked tofu into squares or small strips. In the pot that you cooked the pasta in, add the pesto and the tofu. Heat over low until tofu is hot.

Cheater's Ravioli

I love stuffed pasta, and I know how much better homemade stuffed pasta is than store bought (unless you're talking about the pasta from Duso's at Granville Island Public Market, but again that's freshly made.) I had to try Giada de Laurentiis's recipe that uses egg roll wrappers. A great time saving part of this recipe, but I realized after trying them that for me it's not worth it. It's really weird to be eating ravioli when the dough is an egg roll wrapper - it tastes like an Italian style dumpling or something like that. And I definitely don't like dumplings/pot stickers when they're boiled or steamed, pan fried all the way! I could've tried pan fried ravioli then but I didn't think of it then. Next time! In a way, I think using egg roll wrappers is good if you've never made stuffed pasta before. There's already so much to do making a billion ravioli, and this way you can build up your stuffed pasta making confidence before moving on to making your own dough.

The filling that Giada uses is spinach and mushroom. I'm not sure why I thought I would like this since I really don't like cooked/wilted spinach - love raw spinach though. I was probably thinking it would be good for me. Anyway, I wasn't a big fan of the taste of the spinach mushroom ravioli though others liked it. Luckily, all was not lost because I had mistakenly thought I needed 6 cups of mushrooms when I only needed 6 ounces. This left me with tons of mushrooms, so I ended up coming up with my own filling (gasp, I'm coming up with my own recipes now!) The filling I created was sauteed mushrooms, pine nuts, ricotta, Parmesan, and basil, and I thought it was quite tasty. I also used a lot less oil when sauteeing the mushrooms for this one.

I spent hours making ravioli. I've only made pot stickers before (in regards to stuffed things), and I felt the same way both times when making them. It just feels like your pile of filling is never going to end and is not getting any smaller. It's quite the triumphant feeling to see an empty bowl and be able to sit down finally. Though I could've done this all sitting down, I had set it up on the kitchen counter and didn't want to bother moving everything. Anyway, I was left with tons of little raviolis to put in the freezer for a quick meal another day.

For the sauce, I used the recommended mushroom marinara sauce (which was actually quite tasty and used up my leftover marinara sauce) on half and then just butter and Parmesan on the other half. When I'm eating really tasty stuffed pasta, I prefer just using butter and Parmesan instead of a heavier sauce that might take away from the flavour of the pasta. The mushroom marinara sauce went really well with the ravioli though, I must say. The mushroom marinara sauce is really easy to make - saute mushrooms until liquid evaporates, add marinara sauce (store bought or your favourite homemade one, or you could try this one) and let it simmer for a few minutes.

I'm submitting this to Ruth for Presto Pasta Night. I know it's early in the week, but last week I almost missed it and I want to make sure I have a post for it, especially since this is the 6 month-aversary of Presto Pasta Night!

Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli, Mushroom Pine Nut Ravioli
(adapted from Everyday Italian)

Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces button mushrooms, sliced (about 6 big mushrooms)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
10-oz (300g) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
6 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

In a large saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high flame. Add the sliced button mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 6 minutes. Add the spinach and saute for 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a coarse texture forms. Transfer the spinach mixture to a large bowl and stir in 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and the ricotta. Season the filling with more salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Pine Nut Ravioli
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
15 large button mushrooms (about 15 ounces)
salt & pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp freeze dried basil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

In a large saute pan, heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high flame. Add the sliced button mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 6 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to the bowl of a food processor. Add pine nuts and basil. Pulse until a coarse texture forms. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a large bowl and stir in 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and the ricotta. Season the filling with more salt & pepper to taste.

Instructions for both:
Lightly flour a baking sheet. Arrange 3 egg roll wrappers on a cutting board. Brush with the egg and water mixture. Using a tablespoon, spoon 4 mounds of the ravioli mixture 1 inch apart on each wrapper, forming 2 mounds on the first row and 2 mounds on the second. Top each with another wrapper and press around the filling to seal the edges. Using a fluted ravioli cutter (or in my case, a pizza cutter), cut out the ravioli squares, forming 16-20 total. Place the ravioli on the prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean towel.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the ravioli (or scoop out using a slotted spoon). Spoon whatever sauce you're using over the ravioli and serve immediately.

Note: If freezing the ravioli, freeze them as they're laid out on the baking sheet (so they don't stick together). Once frozen you can put them into another container.

My First Real Crust

I love tarts, quiches, and basically anything that comes in a crust or something resembling a pie crusts (except most fruit pies, but even then I will happily eat the crust and pick at the fruit). Why - because I am a crust fiend. Being a crust fiend, I have always been scared of making a pie crust and how disastrously it might turn out. Of course I wanted it to be perfect the first time. (I don't set high expectations for myself!) After looking at some beautiful tarts (more tarts) and quiches on Smitten Kitchen, I was convinced that I had to at least try to make a crust. Armed with newfound bravery and a recipe from Rebar, I made my first pie crust.

I used a recipe for a whole wheat pastry, though it's about a 1 to 3 ratio for whole wheat flour to white flour. I was hoping for an all whole wheat crust but apparently you can't really do that, though I did find a recipe for a 100% whole wheat pizza crust at Checkered Napkins that uses whole wheat pastry flour, so perhaps I could use that as inspiration to make a 100% whole wheat pie crust. I used all butter, instead of the half butter half shortening called for. I was astounded at how easy the pie crust was to make and ecstatic to see it turn out looking and tasting okay. The preamble to the recipe says that it's foolproof, and I'd have to agree. It has you roll the dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap (which doesn't make the environmentally friendly person in me happy, but I hope to become more skilled where I won't need to do this sort of thing). You then lift off the top piece of plastic wrap, and flip the dough upside down into the pie crust. As it turns out, I didn't roll the dough into a perfect circle so when I was folding the extra bits in, it was a bit uneven. But it all worked out in the end so I can't really complain.

There are two tart recipes in the wonderful Rebar cookbook: apple and spinach tart, and squash & smoked cheddar tart. I went for the apple and spinach tart first, and I have plans to try out the other one later. Though I might use sweet potato instead of squash, but anyway. The tart was quite tasty, despite the long wait time since the tart wouldn't set. I wasn't sure how the apples on the top would turn out - a tasty addition or a strange apples gone brown exposed to air thing. They ended up being a tasty addition and added something different to a savoury tart. I look forward to using this recipe as a base to come up with my own tart filling combinations!

Oh and I'm trying something different with the photos for this post. Mostly because the original lighting of them was not so great, so I'm trying to use the magic of photoshop to make them look better. The pictures are, I don't even know how to describe them - brighter, more yellow and overexposed? Is this a good thing, I'm not sure. One day I will learn the skill of making poorly lighted photos look awesome (I hope). Or just get one of those expensive cameras with the flash that I can point up the ceiling to diffuse the light and all that fancy stuff.

Apple & Spinach Tart
(adapted from Rebar)

serves 8

1 pre-baked whole wheat tart shell
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped leeks
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1 bunch spinach, stemmed, washed and wilted
3 eggs
1 cup light cream*
1 cup grated aged cheddar**
3 apples, a combination of red & green
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and saute until the leeks are soft. Set aside to cool. Wilt the spinach, squeeze out excess water and chop. Next, lightly beat the eggs in a bowl. Add cream, salt and pepper and whisk together.

2. To assemble the tart, evenly distribute grated aged white cheddar over the bottom of the pre-baked tart shell. Follow with the leeks and the spinach. Pour the egg mixture over top.

3. Quarter and core the apples. Thinly slice each quarter into 8 thin wedges. Starting at the outer edge of the tart, overlap apple slices, skin sides facing out, in a circle around the edge. Spiral the overlapping slices towards the center of the tart to cover the entire surface. Beat the egg white in a small bowl and brush over the apples. Place the tart on a baking tray and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes***, or until the egg is set and the crust has browned. Let the tart rest for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve.

*I used what I had, which was 1/2 cup whipped cream and 1/2 cup 1% milk.
**The recipe calls for crumbled blue cheese but I really am not at the point of liking blue cheese yet. And extremely love aged white cheddar.
***I ended up baking it for 45-55 minutes because it didn't seem to be setting. Maybe because I used half 1% milk?

Note: I used an 8" pie shell and it only fit 2 apples and not quite all of the egg/cream mixture.

Whole Wheat Pastry
(adapted from Rebar)

makes one 10" tart

1 cup unbleached flour
6 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
7 tbsp chilled unsalted butter
4 tbsp ice water

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together. Add the chilled butter. Using our fingertips, mix gingerly until the fat and flour combine to form a coarse meal. Sprinkle in the ice water and mix until the dough just holds together. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes, or until ready to use.

2. Wipe counter with a lightly damp cloth. Spread a sheet of plastic wrap over the moistened surface to cover an area slightly larger than the intended crust size. Smooth the plastic into place. Position the ball of dough in the center of the plastic and press with your palm to flatten a circle 6" across. Cover the dough with a second sheet of plastic wrap.

3. Roll out the dough in strokes radiating outwards from the center, with even pressure on the rolling pin, to a size slightly larger than the diameter of the tart pan. Gently lift the top sheet of plastic off the dough, and have a tart pan ready by your side. Lift the crust by the bottom sheet and flip the dough upside down, centered onto the pan. The dough should be overlapping all around the sides of the pan.

4. Carefully separate the plastic from the dough and gently press it against the sides. Using your thumb, push the dough all along the edge where the side meets the bottom. Fold the overhang inwards, leaving a double crust along the side and a rounded edge on top. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork to prevent the crust from puffing up when pre-baking. Bake in the center of a pre-heated 350F oven for 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Spinach, Crunchy Chickpea & Hazelnut Ragout

Why why why did I choose to make this recipe? I don't usually like chickpeas (though I'm trying), hazelnuts are definitely not a favourite nut of mine, wilted spinach bothers me, raisins only belong in raisin bread (though I am accepting them into other places more often now) and cooked tomatoes are unappealing (yes they have more of the antioxidant lycopene than raw tomatoes but cooked tomatoes are all mushy). The one good thing was the idea of baking chickpeas until they're crispy - however here they just become mushy again when added to the ragout. Oh and I also got to experience the joy of roasting hazelnuts and then rubbing them like crazy to try and get the skins off - I was surprised at how much effort and time it took. But then I think there were some very toasty ones that I kept trying and trying to rub the skin off of (though it was already off).

Sometimes I choose to make recipes with ingredients that I don't like. I have no idea why I do this. Maybe because I'm flipping through a cookbook, looking for a recipe, and it just sounds intriguing and hey you never know, it could turn out to be something delicious that you never expected (characteristic of recipes in the Rebar cookbook). I guess there were just too many ingredients here that I don't like - I couldn't even finish the portion I had dished out for myself. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with this recipe, if you like these ingredients, but I never ever want to eat this meal again. If somebody really wants the recipe, I'll post it, but I don't see the point. The recipe is from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet (Didi Emmons). And I'm not saying that this is a bad cookbook, because I have found other recipes in it that I like (sweet potato badi, sesame tofu). I just also found a recipe I really didn't like... so much for being adventurous!