roasted vegetables

Nothing extravagant today. I was craving summer veggies and my CSA delivered a bunch last week. There are very few culinary treats as lovely as fresh summer vegetables. Japanese eggplant, tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, onions, basil, peppers, oh my!

I sprinkled some balsamic vinegar on them and poured them over some brown rice. I'm still a little tired from the bug, so this was just right.
 Fresh, fast and fabulous.

Gives a new meaning to "Dollar Meal."

Cost Breakdown:

zucch: $1

squash: $1

pepper: $1

onion, basil: $1

tomato: $1

eggplant: $1

rice: $1

Total to feed a family of 5:

$7.00

american lasagna

It is Italian/Pasta Night

This is the best lasagna. Period. Well, maybe Bryanna's Italian Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce is a rival :)

This is not a vegetable lasagna, because my kids' first question after 'What is for dinner?' is "Is there anything weird in it?' Define 'weird' as 'vegetable.' Ahh. Gets old. I do not know how they overlook the fact that the ricotta-style filling has 8 cups of spinach, but I don't care! They love it and as long as there are no odd bits of zucchini or mushrooms to bite into, they are happy. If it was up to me, there would be pieces of zucchini and eggplant and pepper and mushrooms, but, alas, I leave this one alone. For now.

This lasagna is easy to make, and I hope that is not just because I've been making it for over seven years. It has 5 layers of: pasta, spinach-basil tofu filling, ground Boca, Daiya-Follow Your Heart cheeses, homemade pasta sauce. I use Whole Foods No Boil Lasagna noodles, but I've had success using regular lasagna noodles and not pre-cooking them. Just make sure to cover your pan very tightly with foil (doming it a bit so the cheese does not stick to it) and extend the cooking time about 15 minutes. Adding a 2-3 T of water to the bottom of the pan before assembling the lasagna gives extra insurance of it getting cooked properly. 

This has to be one of our more expensive meals, but putting things into perspective, each generous serving is $2.70. You can't even buy a frozen meal for that much.

Cost Breakdown:

noodles: $2

spinach, basil, tofu: $8

Boca: $3

tomatoes: $5

onion, garlic, olive oil: $1

Daiya and Follow Your Heart: $8  

Total for 10 servings:

$27.00

tom kha

Asian Night

When we have the chance to go to a Thai restaurant, David, Mikel and I always want the Tom Kha soup - a coconut-lime soup. Invariably though, there is either fish sauce in it or it is made with chicken stock. There was a time we received it with a piece of chicken, even after interrogating the server; makes you think they weren't being completely forthright...maybe?

If we are able to find a place that follows our one simple rule of 'no animals in our food,' they charge an arm and a leg for a teeny, tiny bowl. It just makes more sense to make it at home and load it up with all your favorite vegetables, fungi or soy products. 

This soup should really be called Tom Yum, but that is this same soup without the coconut milk - so unfair.

We made ours with shiitake, green beans, red peppers, spinach, carrots, shallots and basil. This is one of those Thai meals, that although would be even better with the addition of kaffir, lemongrass and galanga, tastes spectacular with just lime, lemon zest and ginger. This is so because I've gone to the extent of having gotten those exotic ingredients, but not tonight. Still totally wonderful.

Cost Breakdown:

coconut milk: $3

homemade stock: $1

lemon, lime, basil, ginger: $3

vegetables: $3

fungus: $2

Total to feed 6 people your way:

$12.00

classic pesto

Mikel cooked lunch today. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was Italian, having chosen most of last week's Italian dishes. His choice for today is no exception: Pesto.

Pesto is one of those super fabulous sauces that is easy to make, store, and cook with. Not to mention tasty.

The pesto used today was made late last week because I did not want the basil to go bad. In addition to the basil, I also add some dark leafy greens. Covered with some olive oil, it can keep for a long time. Oh, did I mention it is heavenly? Mikel used a brown rice pasta to go with his pesto, and his sister slathered some on a whole grain bread and toasted it.