Road Trip Appetite, The Bridesmaid Dress and Veggie Lasagna

On mile 1 of 2354 I did not regret the decision to drive and on mile 2354 of 2354 I still did not regret the decision to drive from San Francisco, CA to Mobile, AL. I would call that a successful road trip. Flying would have been so uneventful. I enjoyed every stop and every bite; however I am elated to be settled into my new kitchen. Below I will share food highlights that I will be using for motivation in future posts. The experience ranged from enjoying quality local food in Santa Fe, NM to eating just for caloric necessity in Grand Canyon National Park. While the Grand Canyon is known for its scenery; I quickly learned that its not famous for produce or good food. We enjoyed everything from homemade tater tots to sushi, burgers, quinoa salad, chili relleno, fresh pineapple pizza, carrot cake french toast and back to sushi. And haunting every meal was the bridesmaid dress that I had to fit into at the end of the road trip.  I suppose it is also this bridesmaid dress I can give credit to for keeping my weight in check. (Thanks and Congratulations to you Dr. and Mrs. LeBert!) It was well worth the experience and the few pounds gained.

Peanut Butter and Jelly on the road:

Shopping trip to Whole Foods to recover from the Grand Canyon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking School in Santa Fe: blue corn pancakes, chorizo cottage fries, huevos rancheros, and spinach and goat cheese quiche:

 


















Fresh pineapple, cilantro, red onion, feta pizza from West Crust Pizza in Lubbock, Texas:

Marry Me Roll (shrimp tempura, ginger cream topped with avocado and strawberry) from Piranha Killer Sushi in Austin, Texas

And now for a recipe...
A few months ago I posted the Back Pocket Lasagna with a promise to post a veggie lasagna. Right before leaving SF, I received my first actual request for a recipe so I will enthusiastically oblige. I am a bit hesitant as I have made several different variations of this lasagna but will settle on posting the most recent. This lasagna has a layer of zucchini in the middle that could replace one layer of your pasta if you are trying to lighten the dish or could be used in addition to the pasta. Another idea I thought of was to end with a top layer of zucchini instead of pasta. I think I will try that next time. So many lasagnas, so little time.

1 lb lasagna noodles
1 medium yellow onion
8 oz mushrooms
10-12 oz fresh spinach
2 zucchini
28 oz can diced tomato
8 oz can tomato sauce
3-5 cloves of garlic
2 cups ricotta
1.5 cups cottage cheese
16 oz mozzarella
salt, pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
grapeseed (or canola) oil

Cook pasta noodles until al dente (8 minutes), drain and lay out on paper towels to dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in large skillet, add onion and saute for about 5-7 minutes, add diced mushrooms and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic and once fragrant add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, salt, pepper and oregano.  In a separate skillet, heat oil and wilt spinach in handfuls. Add 1-2 cloves of garlic at the  and remove from heat when fragrant. Add spinach to tomato sauce and turn off heat. Combine ricotta, cottage cheese, 8 oz of mozzarella cheese and a couple pinches of salt. Layer a casserole dish with a couple spoonfuls of tomato sauce to prevent pasta from sticking. Next make layers of  pasta, cheese mixture, veggie tomato sauce, zucchini slices and repeat until you run out of room in your dish. This will likely be two layers ending in your choice of either pasta or zucchini slices then the remainder 8 oz of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes.

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