Corn and Spinach Lasagna

28 May

This year’s Mother’s Day crept up on me very unexpectedly…   I had been traveling in India for about a month and when I was making myself at home… POOF! Mother’s Day is here!!!!!

For the last few years, I have been making a big part of our family lunch reunions – partly because I am the food blogger extraordinaire, creator of all recipes delicious, but most of all, because I am the one vegetarian with the least responsibility.  My mom is super busy taking care of my grandma and that consumes most of her day.  And if the vegetarians want to make sure they have something to eat besides salad, I need to take charge.  Besides, it’s Mother’s Day, how am I going to make my Mom or Aunt cook???   

I had to deal with what I had in the pantry and freezer – some lasagna noodles, frozen corn, frozen spinach, a few shredded cheeses, milk (thank God for UHT) and spices.  I was drawing a blank because I didn’t want to make just spinach lasagna again…  I had made one recently at Thanksgiving.  And here comes my friend, Giada Di Laurentiis, with a recipe for mini lasagnas made of sweet corn and mascarpone.  I took some inspiration from her recipe, a quick trip to the 24-hour supermarket, combined with my audacity to use up what I had available and make sure I had enough lasagna to feed 10 people, I came up with this recipe.  It looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but it’s actually super easy to make.  Check it out…

 

CORN AND SPINACH LASAGNA

½ package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 package of frozen corn, thawed
9 whole-wheat lasagna sheets
A whole recipe of White Sauce (recipe follows)
½ cup heavy cream
3 garlic cloves, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese, divided (we’ll use half for the corn mixture and half for the white sauce)
1 cup of grated pecorino romano cheese, divided (we’ll use part with the corn mixture and the rest for the lasagna assembly)
2 cups of grated Italian blend cheeses, divided (part for the white sauce and part for the lasagna assembly)
The zest and juice of 1 yellow lemon
About 25 fresh basil leaves, well washed and dried
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
A few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil spray for the casserole dish
For the White Sauce:
2 cups of milk
2 tbs of sofrito
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
The cheeses mentioned in the list above (the cream cheese and the Italian shredded cheese blend)
Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Note:  My apologies if I confused you with the ingredients list above…  I just want to let you know that for making this whole recipe you’ll need a bar of cream cheese, a tub of grated pecorino romano and a 2-cup bag of shredded cheese.  I just didn’t want YOU to do the math of how much ingredients you need in total when I already know it.  It’s easier to give you the whole amount for when you’re making your grocery list, even though you’ll use it in various applications within the same recipe.  Cool??  I hope so…

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until tender, stirring occasionally to avoid any sticking, about 8-10 minutes. Drain.
  3. Meanwhile we make the white sauce…  In a medium saucepan over medium heat add a bit of olive oil and the sofrito.  Cook a few minutes to remove the raw taste.  Add the milk and 4 ounces of cream cheese (half of a cream cheese bar) and stir every so often to melt the cheese and start to thicken the sauce.  When the cream cheese is incorporated into the milk, add about 1 cup of the Italian shredded cheeses, the parmesan cheese and remove from heat.  Whisk all together to melt and blend the cheeses and thicken the sauce.  Set aside.
  4. In a food processor, blend the corn, spinach, cream and garlic. Add the rest of the cream cheese (you should have ½ a bar left), 2/3 cup of the Pecorino Romano cheese, the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add the basil leaves last and pulse until just combined. Set aside.
  5. In a 9” x 13” glass baking dish sprayed with olive oil spray, place some ladles of the white sauce to prevent anything from sticking.  Place 3 lasagna noodles at the bottom.  Add ½ of the corn/spinach mixture, add a few ladles of white sauce to cover it all, sprinkle some of the shredded cheeses and some of the pecorino romano.  And we start over again, another layer of noodles, the rest of the corn/spinach mixture, more sauce, shredded cheeses and pecorino romano.  Lastly, top with the last layer of noodles, pour enough white sauce to cover the noodles and allow it to seep into the rest of the lasagna.  Finish off with the remaining shredded cheeses and pecorino romano you may have left.
  6. Place the glass dish on a baking sheet to prevent any spilling in the oven and bake for about 3o minutes, until the filling/sauce is bubbling and the top gets golden brown.  If the top takes too long to brown, just turn on the broiler for a few minutes to get the desired color on top.
  7. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

 

My aunt and uncle were raving all afternoon about this lasagna.  The funny thing is that you might believe the filling is sweet due to the corn, but its savory and delicious… with traces of corn flavor, but the piquancy of the lemon zest and basil.  It’s different and very, very delicious.


Meatless Spinach Lasagna

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Incredible India All Over Again – Old and New Favorites

26 May

This is really incredible… I traveled to India once again.  Hey, a palm reader actually told me when we were there about 6 months ago that I would return to India many, many, many times in the future.  One down, God knows how many more to go…

This time I went to India with my yoga center group to attend Kumba Mela 2010 in Haridwar – a spiritual celebration held every 12 years where spiritual masters come down from the Himalayas and all over the world to bathe in the River Ganges at specific very auspicious days.  I feel extremely blessed to have been able to be present for such a special spiritual event.

 In the 3 weeks we were traveling through India we visited a few places we’ve been before – Delhi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Varanasi… but I also visited a few new places such as Mumbai, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Omkareshwar and Indore.  In doing this, I certainly got the chance to savor some of my favorite Indian delicacies and also discovered some new treasures.

Among the tried and true…

American Airlines does not “disappoint” with their Indian Vegetarian Meals in Coach…  White Rice, paneer in a spicy sauce and stewed chickpeas.  I always eat mainly the rice and paneer, but I have sworn I will never travel to India on Coach.  Business-class is definitely in my future and hopefully better food and better movie choices.

    

Breakfasts are my favorites…  I got to try again chole, without the bhature, and dosas.  My favorite dosa filling is the curry potato filling.  They usually give me the sambar and the chutneys, but I eat the dosa and filling alone like that.

 

 

I also got to drink again my favorite tea, chai masala.  I drank it out of regular cups, and in Varanasi, where I learned to enjoy this delicious tea, I drank it out of the traditional clay disposable cup.  And watching the Varanasi sunrise, this was a real treat.

   

Among the new favorites…

In Maheshwar we got to taste a delicious yet very spicy breakfast – Parathas and Cutlets.  Parathas are a sort of flatbread that can be plain or filled with various vegetables.  The first ones were filled with potatoes and scallions.  Here you can see how parathas are made so flat yet filled with so much deliciousness.  Cutlets are a potato/vegetable fritter…  I explained it to locals as vegetable “alcapurria”.  These cutlets were extremely spicy for my taste, but they were very delicious still.  Don’t they look appetizing and where the heck was the plain yogurt??

     

 Last time I visited India I had a watermelon juice every morning.  Well, this time around the popular flavor was Sweet Lime.  A taste smilar to mixing lemon and orange juice, it was available everywhere and very refreshing.  Maybe this fruit was in season in April…

 

In Haridwar we got to try a few new things…  I learned about uttapam, vegetables cordon blue and pohe.  Uttapam is a rice flour pancake with vegetables.  Definitely a savory pancake, but really, really good. 

      

As you can tell, Indians like their fried foods; very much like us Latins, so probably that’s why I was drawn to these vegetable cordon blues – a vegetable fritter with a creamy, cheesy interior.  

Pohe is a flattened rice dish, often served for breakfast.  Mine looked more like polenta or cooked corn flour than rice, but let’s trust the locals that told me I was eating pohe.  My version had petit pois and I had it with some spicy curried potatoes.  Very spicy indeed.  As you can see, I have to supplement my Indian breakfast with some Western corn flakes and banana…  It was ripe even though it looks green.  Believe me…

 

I am super excited of my recent trip to India… we definitely found much more variety of delicious foods than during my first trip 5 years ago.  Stick around so you can learn more about the delicious and interesting food things I encountered.

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Sublime Vegan Restaurant Review

18 May

I have a thing with vegetarian and vegan restaurants…  the fact that their food usually is filled with so many substitutes or tries to use so many “exotic” ingredients that the flavor is not there.  That’s why I sometimes prefer to just go to traditional restaurants and navigate through their menus to find something delicious yet still suitable for me to eat.  Funny… but sometimes I’ve found a great meal in a steakhouse…  the best baked potatoes and salad you’ve ever tasted!!!  But that’s another subject…

Last month I was in Miami with my mom visiting my sister and coincided with my mom’s 67th birthday.  My sister decided we should celebrate her by going to dinner at a vegan restaurant in Ft Lauderdale called Sublime.  I have heard of this restaurant before, but hadn’t had a chance to go up there.  And from my feelings above, I was a bit wary of what we would find there…

The ambiance at Sublime is really nice… low lights, nice décor, small tables for 2 or 4…  like any fine dining restaurant should be.  The music was nice and the bar area looked really nice.  Sorry I do not have pictures because the low lighting does not allow for nice pictures with or without flash.  Sublime is a vegan restaurant… so even though they do not serve any animal products or any eggs or dairy, they do serve alcohol and chocolate, which are not included in the line of vegetarianism I usually follow.  Just wanted to clarify…

It’s so refreshing to go to a fine dining restaurant that you know that you can eat EVERYTHING on the menu… it’s now a matter of what you like and what you’re in the mood for… not a matter of what can I have, what questions should I ask the waitress, will it have bacon?  But still, I was careful to check out if the food will taste good…

The menu is large… but not unmanageable.  They had appetizers, a “sushi” menu, salads, pizzas and main entrees.  I ordered a “Sublim-ade” which was their featured non-alcoholic drink – really delicious limeade.  I can’t remember if I had one or two.  We were in the sharing mood, which was wonderful for this article – I had a chance to taste what Vanessa (my sister), Wichi (my bro in law), my mom and I ordered… and this is what we had:

 For appetizers:

Crispy Eggplant Rollatini

We ordered this to share for all 4.  This was really good even though the cheeses in the filling were not made from milk.  The eggplant seemed it was fried in panko breadcrumbs.  It was not hot in temperature, but it was really delicious.  I would have ordered another one just for myself had I known what you’ll learn later on…

 

Soup of the Day – lentil vegetable soup with chickpeas

This is the only thing I did not taste. Wichi liked it a lot; so did Vanessa.  The taste was very authentic according to them.

 

Florasian Sushi Roll – made from rice, tempura avocado, vegenaise, mango and toasted coconut.

My sister ordered this for herself because she’s “eating for two”. She wasn’t planning to share, but she was in for a surprise. 

I do eat often regular vegetable/vegetarian sushi made at traditional Japanese sushi restaurants, so I have a good comparison point…  this tasted interesting, to say the least.  My sister tasted the coconut, I did not.  Nor did I taste the mango.  The avocado was good, but I never knew if it was tempura or not.  What difference could it make???  To me these sushi pieces were too chewy for my taste…  I would not order them again.  Sorry…

For main entrees, we had:

Pizza Margherita Classico

My brother-in-law ordered this… I was also considering it too.  The taste was good – the tomato sauce was a bit sweet, the basil super fresh and the “mozzarella cheese” did not taste plasticky.  Now, the crust left a lot to be desired… and to me, the best torture test of a great pizza is the crust.  It was kind of soggy and burned.  So it was OK, but we’ve had better.

 

Portobello Stack – a Portobello mushroom cap filled with sautéed spinach and topped with slices of red potato.  It was served with gravy and a side of “smashed” cauliflower.

My mom ordered this…  and this was very delicious.  I really enjoyed the few bites I had.  I am not a fan of gravies, so I found the taste a bit bland.  The spinach and mushroom had enough moisture that the dish didn’t feel it needed a sauce.  Now, the cauliflower did need a bit of help.  It was dry and bland.  It felt as it was raw cauliflower shredded and put on the plate.  It did not taste as if it was cooked, mixed with something liquid to soften – like “milk”, “butter”, “sour cream”, or stock at least.  Maybe that’s the purpose of the gravy on that plate.

 

Sublime Loaf –a mock “meatloaf” made of lentils, brown rice, water chestnut, accompanied by Israeli couscous and grilled asparagus

My sister ordered this…  I was never a fan of meatloaf when I ate meat, so I have no real point of original comparison here.  To me it was no show-stopper…  it tasted OK with the not-so-interesting gravy mentioned before, definitely not something I would order the next time around.  The Israeli couscous tasted just like plain boiled pasta without any seasonings or flavorings – a missed opportunity in my opinion. And the grilled asparagus, to me, were the best thing on the plate.

By process of elimination, what did I order???  You might be asking yourselves…  Well, I originally ordered the Ravioli – house-made pasta, spinach “ricotta”, slow-roasted tomatoes, garlic confit, herbs…  doesn’t it sound good???  I was soooooo looking forward to the roasted tomatoes and garlic confit…  Well, something happened in the kitchen that they could not bring me the ravioli.   They had me order anything else I wanted from the menu, compliments of the chef.  When I was perusing the menu, two things jumped at me…  the side dishes, so I ordered the mac and “cheese” with the olive oil mashed potatoes.  I figured if I ordered side dishes, the plates of the other people would not get too delayed.

     

NOT!!!  I have a master’s degree in whipped potatoes with olive oil…  I make these for myself all the time.  These mashed potatoes tasted NOTHING like the ones I make.  They looked old, mushy, and were bland.  I had to sprinkle salt from the salt shaker and I never do that in a restaurant.  But these were REALLY bland.  And at some points it seemed as if these were left to dry for a while in a kitchen corner, because they tasted dry, dry, dry.  Apparently the olive oil they use there is neither Spanish nor Italian… because I could not taste it at all.

And the macaroni was a complete mistake… it was bland and you could taste the “cheese” was not real cheese at all.  And I have made vegan pastas before, I know they’re a challenge, but you can achieve success if the right ingredients are used.  Not here… we all tried it and no one liked it at all. 

 

Now for the desserts… this was a celebratory birthday after all, so we needed some sweets to finish off the night.

Strawberry Cheesecake  

My mom ordered this one because she is a strawberry fan.  It tasted really delicious and we enjoyed the strawberries were mixed in with the cheesecake and not just something on top.  The almond crust was also delicious.

 

Chocolate Nirvana Cake

Like I said, the restaurant and some of my dinner companions are chocolate lovers.  And me, being a choco-holic in a “12-step separation program”, we ordered this chocolate cake.  It had a coffee-flavored Kahlua “butter creme” and dark chocolate ganache…  I only had a few bites because it is not often I can taste cakes without eggs in any restaurant… so a little chocolate was not going to stop me.  This cake was awesome…  one of the best things we had all night. 

Our compliments to the pastry chef… certainly.

So, after all this review, what’s the VEREDICT:

Sublime is OK, just not awesome.  I will go back again and try some of the other dishes on the menu… but now knowing what to stay away from.  I would like to try those ravioli the next time, certainly… and maybe some of the other appetizers.  The frito mixto certainly was calling me a bit. 

But if you’re in the Ft Lauderdale area or just visiting like we were, give Sublime a try.  Just stay away from the mac and mashed potatoes, OK??  Deal…

 

1431 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-615-1431

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Grapefruit Benefits

13 May

My Tití Carmín has an orchard of beautiful grapefruit trees…  These trees are the most prolific grapefruit trees I have ever seen.  They are giving fruit almost all year-round.  So even though we are currently in citrus season, these trees don’t know what that is.

I have always loved oranges, but not so much grapefruits.  When I was little, I had tried some canned grapefruit juice that was just awful.  But all that changed when I tried the juice from my Tití’s grapefruits.  These grapefruits are juicy and sweet.  And they like to proliferate, because they’re filled with seeds.  Tití would make juice for me and at the beginning she would sweeten it a little, making a “grapefruitade”.  She would squeeze the juice for me and bring it already in a bottle. 

Now, every time we visit Tití Carmín, we return with bagfuls of grapefruits; sometimes enough grapefruits to make about 96 ounces of pure juice.  Now I just drink it straight without any need to sweeten.

And that got me thinking… about the bountiful of health we have in our hands.  I have once heard that nature gives you everything you need to be healthy at about 20 feet around where you live.  Tití Carmín lives a bit farther away than 20 feet from me, but the access we have to these grapefruits made me want to think what benefits we are getting when I consume this delicious juice…

Here’s some of the research I did:

              

  • Contains high levels of Vitamin C to protect against colds and flu and drinking a freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice helps also relieve sore throats and soothes coughs. The vitamin C also helps to strengthen and maintain the elasticity of arteries and helps to reduce water retention and swelling of the legs during pregnancy.

 

  • The pectin in this fruit has been found to be effective in reducing the accumulation of arterial deposits keeping arteriosclerosis at bay.

 

  • It has lots of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, B complex, E, K, Calcium, folic acid, phosphorus, and potassium.

  • Nutritive phytonutrients and antioxidants that help fight cancer. Studies show that lycopene-rich foods, like grapefruits reduce the risk of ovarian, cervical, breast, prostate and colon cancer.  And when eating or juicing grapefruit, peel off the skin but leave as much of the albedo (the white pith part) intact as possible as it contains the highest amount of valuable bioflavonoids and other anti-cancer agents.

 

  • A certain compound found in grapefruit helps reduce the excessive production of cholesterol from the liver. A Harvard study revealed that drinking one glass of grapefruit juice or eating half a grapefruit daily lowered LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 33 percent. And another study indicated specifically that red grapefruit reduces levels of triglycerides.

 

  • Grapefruit has a fat-burning enzyme and can help to absorb and reduce the starch and sugar in the body. It is widely consumed by people who are trying to lose weight. A Johns Hopkins study found that people who had two servings of grapefruit or grapefruit juice daily along with a low-fat and low-calorie diet lost an average of 19 pounds over a period of 13 weeks. Cool, huh?

       

  • Sometimes, when using certain medications doctors recommend avoiding grapefruit juice because supposedly the grapefruit halts the metabolism of these drugs.  Doctors may tell you that grapefruit is the cause of toxicity, but in fact, it is really the drugs that are causing the toxicity.  The abundant source of limonoid and naringin in grapefruit increase the function of detoxifying enzymes in the liver and will reject synthetic man-made drugs. These enzymes help to recognize alien compounds which should not be in our body, treats as toxins and makes them more water soluble to be excreted easily from the body.  

 

  • I was pleased to learn that grapefruit has many digestive benefits too… just like lemons and limes, even though it has an acid taste, its juice promotes good digestion and actually has an alkaline reaction after digestion by increasing the flow of gastric juices. This has a profound effect in the treatment of acidity in the digestive system that causes a host of other health problems.

 

One last curious thing… It is called a grapefruit simply because it grows in clusters, like grapes.  I did not know that as a fact, but check out this photo… the do gow in clumps and that’s why they always have three indentations because they cant be completely round growing next to the other.

 

 

 

I hope you learned as much as I did of all the benefits this awesome elixir has.  Now you can toast with a big glass of grapefruit juice and confidently say “To your health!!!”


Grapefruit

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Mario Batali supports Meatless Mondays in his Restaurants… NOT!!!

10 May

I recently read through an email I received from the Meatless Mondays campaign people that Mario Batali now joins the Meatless Mondays movement by offering at least 2 vegetarian options in all his 14 restaurants across the US every Monday.

         

 

This is the quote straight from the press release:

“The fact is, most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet,” maintains Batali. “Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan isn’t a realistic or attainable goal. But we can focus on a more plant-based diet, and support the farmers who raise their animals humanely and sustainably. That’s why I’m such a big believer in the Meatless Monday movement.”

“Every Monday, there will be at least 2 vegetarian dishes served, such as pasta or pizza.”

 

Photo from www.mariobatali.com

Initially sounds like a great idea and initiative… no?  Hey, big chef Mario Batali is making this big statement.  However, when you think about it in detail… is it really???

I don’t think so!!!!!

 I like the exposure the Meatless Monday is getting by associating with Mario Batali.  And in all honesty, I like Mario Batali’s TV shows, his recipes and hey, I have eaten at several of his restaurants already…  However, committing to have at least 2 options in a menu, which on average has between 60 and 70 items to choose from, represents a mere 3% out of the total menu options without counting desserts.  Not a big change or statement in my opinion. 

 To me, ANY successful restaurant that wants to cater to a wide audience should AT LEAST have 2-3 vegetarian/meatless options EVERY DAY!!! Not just on Mondays…  I know I like to eat out any day of the week.  I am sure all other vegetarians also feel this way…   And please notice I say vegetarian-suitable options, not just meatless… because the vegetable soup made with chicken stock or the pasta made with pancetta drippings or veal stock does not count and does not qualify to be on the Meatless Mondays list, in my humble opinion.

 Now, if Mario would have said ALL 14 restaurants, or maybe even just some of them, ONLY OFFER vegetarian/meatless dishes all-day Monday, every Monday, now that’s an initiative truly embracing the Meatless Monday’s concept.  Eradicating meat dishes from all restaurants on Mondays would demonstrate his true commitment and would make a real statement and impact on the environment and on public opinion.   But just 2 dishes on each menu?????  Give me a break…

 And why does Meatless Mondays agree to this??  Just to ride on the curtails of Mario Batali’s fame and media-draw?? 

“We’re delighted that Maestro Mario is helping to move the movement,” declares Sid Lerner, founder and chairman of Meatless Monday, an initiative of The Monday Campaigns. “If anybody can entice meat lovers to enjoy their veggies as well, it’s Batali!”

Because if I were Sid Lerner, I would try to work my charm to convince Mario to go big or go home.  I think the statement above is just using Batali’s fame to promote the movement.  And not lobbying to get Mario and his restaurants to do more is just wimpy in my opinion.

 And a question I would like to pose Mario himself…  Do you embrace Meatless Monday in your personal daily diet??  Do you cook meatless dishes every Monday at home?  Do you teach your children that meat-products are not necessary in a healthy daily diet and that they’ll start with Meatless Mondays??

 Now that’s something inquiring minds like me want to know…   Please feel free to share your comments about this news here.  I will make sure the Meatless Monday people get the message from me and you.

 Thanks in advance.

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