New Spin on Veggie Lasagna (What's Cookin' - Part Five)

Here is the finished product from tonight's dinner. I got the recipe from Vegetarian Times and it's mighty tasty.

Full disclosure: I'm not sold on calling this lasagna. Nevertheless, it's a great layered dish FULL of flavor, texture, nutrition and color. Best of all, it's fantastically filling and still low in calories. And I am already counting the minutes till Lunch Leftovers tomorrow.

And if you want more of the pasta flavor that lasagna noodles gives, I would just try decreasing the amount of zucchini and add the noodles.

ZUCCHINI QUINOA LASAGNA
Serves 6


The winner for me in this dish was using high-protein quinoa instead of a meat filling. It gave it good density and just absorbed all the flavors of the sauce and vegetables.

Ingredients
2 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into 12 ¼-inch-thick slices
1 tsp. salt
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. dried oregano
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 Tbs. cream cheese (non-dairy options such as Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese works, apparently)
1 25-oz. jar marinara sauce* (see my notes below in Directions)
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (can use non-dairy options here too, such as Daiya Mozzarella)

Directions
I made my dish tonight with the roasted tomato sauce that I used this weekend. I used 7 Roma tomatoes, added a can of tomato paste and a cup of water to make it thinner. I think it made the dish even better -- perhaps that was due to the 5 cloves of garlic I roasted with the tomatoes?!

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place zucchini slices on bed of paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, cover with paper towels, and let stand to release moisture while preparing quinoa.

2. Bring broth, quinoa, tomato sauce, onion, and oregano to a boil in saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 25 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and stir in basil, parsley, and cream cheese, if using.

3. Spoon 1/3 cup marinara sauce over bottom of 8-inch square baking dish. Blot remaining moisture and salt from zucchini slices, and lay 4 zucchini slices over marinara sauce in pan. Spoon half of quinoa over zucchini, and cover with 1/3 cup marinara. Repeat with 4 more zucchini slices, remaining quinoa, and 1/3 cup marinara. Top with remaining 4 zucchini slices, remaining marinara, and shredded cheese, if using. Bake lasagna 30 minutes, or until zucchini is tender and top is bubbly.

¡Viva la Fiesta! (On my terms)

In case you are reading this and do NOT live in Santa Barbara, CA, we are living in the midst of our biggest annual celebration known as "Old Spanish Days," or commonly called "Fiesta."

There are some fun elements -- good cheap Mexican food is easy to find, fun confetti-filled eggs ("cascarones") to smash on friends' heads... sold by sweet little grandmas who make them all year precisely for this time of year. And a some great flamenco dancing.

But honestly, I view most of Fiesta by the pejorative term we locals call it: "Fiasco." Traffic grinds to a standstill in and out of the city and all around downtown. Thousands use it as an excuse to get sloppy drunk and act like fools. And though I grudgingly accept that we are a tourist town, the absolute worst of them seem to show up this time of year.

I will be the first to admit that I went with friends to our annual lunch run at the Northside Mercado yesterday, and ordered a plate with a homemade enchilada, tamale, and rice and beans, finishing off the feast sharing a basket of guacamole and chips. Yeah yeah.

But that's the extent of it. I will stay far away from the madness, and celebrate Fiesta at home with the organic goodness I got this week at Fairview... With cilantro, tomatoes, zucchini and avocado in this week's share, I looked up recipes for vegetarian tacos. Oh people... Vegetarian or not, this recipe should NOT be passed up. Ridiculously. Good.

Zucchini Garbanzo Tacos With Caramelized Onions

Ingredients (my changes/adjustments are in the tiny, italicized print... I found this recipe online):

4 tablespoons olive or canola oil, divided (I only used 2 tb olive oil)
1 red onion, sliced (sadly, had to skip this ingredient -- roommate doesn't eat onion)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
3 or 4 medium zucchini, quartered (I used 2 - not small, not huge)
1 green or red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (I don't know what they mean by "bunch" - I grabbed a handful about 2" across at the stems)
3 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 to 8 corn or flour tortillas (corn, all the way!!)

I garnished them with a fresh diced tomato, chopped avocado, fresh salsa, some grated cheese and a drizzle of ranch dressing)

Directions:

1. In a saute or sauce pan, 2 tablespoons of the oil. When hot, add onions, salt, and pepper. Stir until onions are translucent, then turn down heat, and stir occasionally. (You can tell when they are done if the onion is soft and sweet. ) Like I said, I skipped this part...

2. To a bowl, add zucchini, bell pepper, garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Stir to coat all of the vegetables with the seasoning. Let sit for about 10 minutes.

3. In another bowl, add garbanzo beans, cilantro, green onions, and lemon juice. (You may season with a little salt and pepper depending on your preference or if the beans were stored in a can with added salt.) Toss well.

4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and sauté zucchini and bell pepper mix until tender.

I decided to combine the bean mixture with the sauteed zucchini mixture because I wanted the beans to absorb the taco seasoning... this seems like an obvious move. It COMPLETELY worked, by the way. I let the two mixtures saute on low in a covered pan while I cut up the garnish ingredients.

5. To serve: Warm tortillas over stove then add zucchini mixture and garbanzo bean mixture. Top with caramelized onions.


Makes: 8 Tacos, Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 10 minutes