A Delicious Way To Get Your Veggies

Sweetie really liked this dish and said if we had this all the time that he would eat more vegetables...that sounds like a vote for this veggie pasta dish that is roughly a pasta primavera. The primavera part is Italian (I think) for Spring. The zucchini is certainly not a spring vegetable, but most of the rest are.

This is sort of a three-ring circus pasta. You are boiling pasta water, and then pasta, prepping and steaming or boiling some veggies and also sautéing others. Then you are also making a cheese sauce!

It takes a bit of time to prep the veggies but it can be done while the pasta water comes to a boil. I used the microwave to steam the broccoli, zucchini and snap peas, but you could also use the pasta water to blanch each in turn. Once blanched immediately submerge the veggie in an ice water bath to stop the cooking and to keep the bright colors. I would blanch them long enough that they are tender but still have some bite to them. In the microwave the broccoli (being in small florets) took about 45 seconds and the other two took a minute. I used a steamer pot with perforated lid and a tiny amount of water.

The second thing to do while the pasta cooks is to make the cheese sauce. This is a white cheese sauce and you can either use all ricotta, or part ricotta and part fresh farmer's cheese as I did. I've done it with all ricotta and that is lovely, too. Boiling water, added in small amounts followed by stirring with a mini-whisk, turns the cheeses into a silky sauce and a bit of grated Parmesan, salt and pepper, plus some nutmeg, gives it flavor. You can use the pasta water as the pasta is boiling and heat the sauce over very low heat until all the other elements are done.

Before I started the pasta water I prepared the truly savory part of this dish. I sautéed chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped carrot and chopped red pepper. Once the onion started to brown at the edges in the mixture of olive oil and melted butter, I turned the heat down and kept it at low heat, stirring once in a while, so that the carrots had a chance to soften and the onions to brown a bit more without burning the garlic.

A large, wide bowl is the best for mixing the elements of this dish together and for serving. Once the pasta is cooked, the steamed veggies, sautéed veggies and the cheese sauce all get tossed together. The final touch is a sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Enjoy!

Sort of Pasta Primavera
Serves 3-4

1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped, no seeds or stem
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into small dice
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I like cremini mushrooms)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or non-dairy 'butter'

1/2 pound rotini pasta
salt
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas that have been cut diagonally into thirds
1/2 - 1 cup broccoli, cut into small florets

1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh farmers cheese (or 1/2 cup ricotta and no farmer's cheese)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
dash salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet put the olive oil and the butter and set over medium heat until the butter melts. Stir.
Add the onions, increase the heat to medium-high and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is translucent. Add the red pepper, garlic, carrots and mushrooms, and stir. Continue cooking and stirring every minute or so until edges begin to brown on the onions. Cover and reduce heat to very low. Continue cooking, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

While sautéed veggies continue to cook, put a very large pot of water on to boil. While it is coming to a boil, prepare the zucchini, snap peas and broccoli.

Once the water comes to a boil, add the amount of salt you like in your pasta water (I use 1/4 teaspoon...some people like more!) Add the pasta, stir, and return to a boil.

While the pasta cooks, prepare the cheese sauce. In a small pot combine the  two cheeses and 1 tablespoon of the boiling pasta water (but no pasta). Stir to combine. I use a mini-whisk but have done it with a small flexible silicon spatula or a teaspoon. Once combined, add another tablespoon of pasta water and stir again until smooth.  Add the seasoning and stir. If the sauce looks too thick, continue to add water, a tablespoon at a time until desired thickness. Sauce should coat the pasta in the finished dish. Keep warm over a very low heat. Stir every minute or so.

Prepare the broccoli, zucchini and snap peas: steam in the microwave or cook is a separate pot of boiling water.  If boiling, remove and put into an ice bath, then remove from ice bath and drain, then add to sautéed veggies. Do this one ingredient at a time. Length of time should be to just barely make them tender. When you are done, all three will be on top of the sautéed veggies, with the lid on to keep hot.

When pasta is cooked to your desired doneness, drain and put into a large, wide bowl. Top with the veggies and then with the sauce. Toss to combine. Sprinkle combined pasta & veggies with the Parmesan cheese and serve at once.

A Saucy Pasta Dish for Asparagus Season

I hope that you love asparagus as much as I do. We have been getting some for a few weeks, but the asparagus coming into the market now are thicker and really fresh. I like them just steamed al dente, but tonight I updated a dish that Sweetie and I enjoyed first in 2013, so ten years ago at asparagus time.

By the way, Sweetie has been going through a tough time for the past three weeks or so. His back has bothered him on and off over the years, but a bout this long and this painful hasn't happened for about 20 years. He finally agreed last Friday to go the his primary care doctor...but saw the Physician's Assistant, who is quite good...and ended up with some muscle relaxants, pain pills, and a referral to a back doctor.

Those meds knocked him out, so he has been sleeping a lot, even during the day (which is unusual for him), but it has done the trick. Along with frequent chiropractor visits, the rest and meds have finally worked so that he didn't need any strong meds today at all...just an ibuprofen.

This dish was sort of a celebration for a better back because I remembered that every time I made the old version that Sweetie loved it. To update it I've added butternut squash 'zoodles', fairly thin strands of the squash that I found in Whole Foods today, already prepared although still raw.

In the original recipe you stew pieces of asparagus and broccoli in garlic and oil. These veggies go on top of pasta that has been dressed with an almost cream sauce made with ricotta cheese and some of the hot water used to cook the pasta. Today I used some fresh linguine and some Kite Hill almond milk 'ricotta'. Don't forget to use freshly grated nutmeg, if possible, in the sauce...makes all the difference!

The updated recipe calls for tossing the asparagus and broccoli pieces in the garlic and oil, then removing them. The butternut squash noodles are then tossed with the remaining oil and garlic and spread over the bottom of the pan. Because they take a little longer to cook than the asparagus pieces and broccoli florets, having the squash on the bottom of the pan allows it to have more heat.  Since it's all cooked covered over low heat, all the veggies cook slowly and become flavored with the garlic.

Of course while the veggies are cooking you boil the pasta and make the sauce with the ricotta. Once everything is done it gets tossed together and makes a really delicious side dish or meal. I would imagine that you could make it with just the squash noodles and broccoli when asparagus isn't in season, but I do love asparagus and it shines in this recipe.

Fettuccine with Ricotta and Asparagus, Broccoli and Butternut Squash

from the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
serves 4 - 6

3/4 lb tender young asparagus ( or 1/2 lb asparagus and 1/4 lb broccoli crown)
1/2 lb butternut squash 'noodles'
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 -4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb fettuccine
6 quarts water
1/2 lb fresh creamy ricotta 
dash nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Trim touch ends off asparagus after rinsing them. Cut tender parts into 2-inch lengths. Cut broccoli crown into small florets. If needed, cut the butternut squash 'noodles' into 6-8-inch lengths.

In a sauté pan place 3 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic; stir to blend. Add the asparagus pieces and toss to coat, then remove and reserve. Repeat with the broccoli florets. Finally, add the additional tablespoon of oil if needed and add the squash 'noodles'; toss to coat and then spread over the bottom of the pan. Arrange the coated asparagus pieces and broccoli florets over the squash (do not stir) and, over low heat and covered, gently stew the garlic, squash, asparagus and broccoli in the oil until the vegetables are tender but not brown, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally the last 5 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water until tender. While pasta cooks, extract 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and mix it in a small saucepan with the ricotta. Set saucepan over low heat and gently cream the ricotta and cooking water. When the ricotta is warm, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Drain the cooked pasta and combine immediately with the cheese sauce, tossing to mix well. Add the veggie mixture and toss with tongs to lightly coat the vegies and mix them with the pasta. If desired, plate or a warm platter. Sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese and serve at once.

A Different Green Salad

Recently I was looking at a lot of restaurant menus online, trying to find a good place for Sweetie and I to have an anniversary dinner out. One of the things I noticed is that if you love kale you can always find a salad on contemporary menus. Arugula is also popular, and so are beets. The standard, at least around here, for salad greens seems to be field greens or spring mix. While I love all of those salad ingredients, they are all off the list of things that I can eat, along with spinach, Swiss chard and the like.

While I know that having salads more interesting than chopped iceberg with shredded carrots and maybe a few coins of radish is a good thing, I do know that there are lots of other kinds of salads that could be on the menus and maybe they will be once we all get tired of kale.

Years ago in Berkeley I came across a salad in a deli case that has been a favorite ever since. It's a pretty simple one, so it didn't take much effort to figure out how to make it at home. It is green, has some very healthy ingredients, goes together fairly quickly and uses an ingredient that seems to be available almost year round these days...broccoli.

Now I know there are folks who don't care for broccoli. To those folks I say...give it a chance! In this salad it gets dressed up in a nice creamy dressing, is complemented by sweet red bell pepper, salty feta cheese and nutty pecans.

The florets of the broccoli are cut into bite sized pieces. If you are frugal, and if you like the stems, include some of them, sliced. Put them in a microwave safe steamer, or in a steamer basket in a pot with a little water in the bottom. Before you start cooking them, dump a couple cups of ice cubes into a large bowl and add a few cups of water. That way the water will get icy while you deal with steaming the broccoli.

Steam the broccoli only long enough for it to become tender enough to bite in two. For my microwave that's 2 minutes on high. The color will be a fairly bright green. Immediately drain off any hot water and dump all the broccoli into the bowl with the ice water. Stir it around with a spoon or your clean fingers. The idea is to cool down the broccoli quickly. Then drain the broccoli completely.

While the broccoli drains, slice a half the fleshy part of a sweet red bell pepper in strips and cut the strips into bite sized pieces. Set aside.

In a small jar place 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, the juice and zest of one small or 1/2 large lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, some garlic powder or minced garlic (amount varies depending on how much you like garlic). Put a lid on the jar and shake briskly for a minute. Take off the lid, add 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt, put the lid back on and shake again. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. You now have a creamy dressing.

Now you're ready to put together the salad. Place the broccoli, red pepper strips, a couple tablespoons crumbled feta cheese, and 2 tablespoons toasted, chopped pecans. Gently mix these ingredients together. Add the dressing and gently mix to coat the ingredients with the dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours.

It's a good idea to serve this salad with a slotted spoon to keep your plate from having a pool of dressing, but if you forget, it's really delicious dressing. The salad is even better and has lots of vitamins and minerals and fiber and all those 'healthy' things, but mostly it's a nice green salad that is absolutely delicious...and different than kale.

A Little This...A Little That

One of the things I find about the post-holiday season is that hidden in the depths of the fridge there are remnants of meals gone by. It was hard to keep up with all the goodies, especially when well-meaning helpers put them away after a meal and then arranged them, say, behind the large container of grated Parmesan cheese, where they were hard to spot. A few days ago I hunted out quite a few small containers of this and that and put together a nice lunch for two with some of them.

The first find was a good sized amount of cooked rice. I had added some lemon when it cooked, so that was a great place to start. There was a small head of broccoli, so I cut that up into florets and steamed them. I mixed the rice with some pesto I found on the door and heated that up. The last addition was the best; I cut up the last of the smoked salmon into squares, put it on top of the heated rice, and heated that in the microwave for just one minute. With the broccoli placed around the sides of the bowl, it was a lovely looking dish. There was just enough for two lunch sized plates of the mixture and Sweetie as delighted to enjoy it with me while he took a break from installing the new sink in the studio.

Did you find nice ways to use up leftovers after the holidays?

Smoked Salmon with Pesto Rice and Broccoli
Serves 2

1 1/2 cups cooked rice
3 tablespoons prepared pesto (or use more if you desire)
1 cup broccoli florets, steamed (small stems can be used, too)
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz. smoked salmon, cut into bite sized pieces

In a medium bowl mix the cooked rice and the pesto. Heat in the microwave for about 2 minutes, until hot throughout. You may want to stir the mixture after one minute.
Steam the broccoli florets with a small amount of water until bright green and just tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain and keep hot.
Place the pieces of salmon on top of the hot rice and microwave for one more minute. Arrange the hot broccoli around the sides of the bowl and serve at once.

Pesto Green and a Link to St. Pat's Cake

It's instructive to look back over a few years of posts, both to see the rise and fall and rise again of my enthusiasm for blogging, for cooking and baking, for the joys of the seasons and to re-discover old recipes. A few days ago I started looking for my favorite chocolate cake recipe, the 86 Proof Chocolate Bundt Cake, a perfect cake for St. Patrick's Day if made with Irish Whiskey, and ended up spending a pleasant half hour or so looking over contiguous posts. There were reminders of pleasures enjoyed and challenges faced as well as the joy of discovering other bloggers.


A lot can be learned by thinking back on the large and small challenges that life throws at one. At the moment I feel like the water in the eddy behind the rock in the stream...taking a short breather in a quiet place. It's far more pleasant than I'd imagined. While getting on with the seemingly endless weeding as I prepare for the new garden year, I have time to think and to dream and to try out new ideas in my head where they are easily turned over and just as easily discarded if not just what I want. Re-potting the seedlings into larger pots is another task that allows for dreaming time. With the kitchen remodel in the dreaming stages you can imagine where my thoughts are going.

Returning to the many posts that have filled this blog, there have clearly been some dreams, particularly baking dreams, that have been fulfilled. What a lot of recipes have been tried and printed over the years! There are some that have become a regular part of our meals, but many that I tried once and then forgot about. I noticed that there seem to be very few recipes from the Comfort Food cookbook, so it may be time soon to get some of those up. My favorite Guest Blogger, No Handle, will be featured early next week, too. Lately there is less baking and more cooking in my life as I try to change my diet to keep from having those nasty stones. That doesn't mean that no baking will happen, just less frequently.

For today I give you a recipe filled with fresh broccoli and squash and leftovers. I threw it together when the garden was calling my name and every minute in the kitchen seemed one too many. If you have to cook the rice (I used leftovers) it will take longer. If you don't have already cooked chicken, either, then you may as well keep this tucked away for another day when you do have some of those leftovers, too. Prepared pesto is readily available around here in every grocery store. All I really had to do was to lightly cook the broccoli and squash with some parsley. The rest was re-heating and mixing together. It did make a nice, warm, savory one dish meal. I love the mixture of the flavors of pesto, chicken, and broccoli. Next time I might throw in some roasted red pepper strips, too. Sometimes leftovers can be quickly embellished with fresh foods and become a real treat.

Pesto Rice with Chicken and Broccoli and Squash

1 cup cooked rice (I used brown but any kind should be OK)
3 tablespoons prepared pesto
1/2 cup precooked chicken, in large dice
1/2 cup or so fresh broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 medium zucchini squash, cut into coins and halved
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
pepper to taste

1. Heat the rice in a large heatproof bowl in the microwave until heated through. Remove from the microwave and add the pesto. Stir to distribute the pesto evenly. Set aside.

2. While the rice is heating, steam the broccoli, squash and parsley until barely cooked through, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add to the pesto rice. Stir to combine. Cover to keep warm.

3. Once the rice is cooked, re-heat the chicken in the microwave in a small dish. Once hot, add to the warm rice mixture. Taste for seasonings and add pepper (and salt, if necessary). Serve at once. Can be garnished with more parsley, toasted pine nuts, warmed roasted pepper strips, etc. Serves 1-2.

Green for March

March in Northern California is a season of green. The grass has taken advantage of the winter rains and longer days. It is lush and long. Our neighbor has sheep. Recently, at our invitation, she brought them over to our pasture. They have been avidly cropping the long grass and soon she'll move them into a movable enclosure and they will lunch on the grass on the hillside, too. Pi wants to go play with them and sometimes just heads out to the pasture and looks at them longingly. One of them is pregnant, too, so soon we might have a little lamb or two frolicking down the hill.

The willows are showing the first tender green leaves, the daffodils are peeking out of their strappy green leaves, and (while not green) the plum blossoms, both white and pink, are decorating the neighborhood. My squash and tomato and beet seedlings are becoming larger and stronger. The weeds are burgeoning, too, so tomorrow I hope to get out and pull some of them out in preparation for spring planting.

Tonight I made a very green side dish. It works well as a main dish, too. Just be sure to allow plenty per person because it is hard to stop with one serving. This is a dish I have been making since the mid-90s when the Mediterranean Diet was quite popular. Today's paper talked about recent studies that showed that it is still an excellent way to eat, since it uses season ingredients, plenty of veggies, olive oil and things like fish and cheese. I just like it because it tastes so good.

Along with some spinach fettuccine, this dish uses both the winter staple broccoli and the spring vegetable that is just now on special in all the stores, asparagus. Add a little garlic, olive oil, ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese and you have a wonderful, warm spring dish. If you prefer, this can also be made with goat cheese. I rarely remember to make sure I have mint or fennel on hand when I make this dish, but those flavors would certainly go well. Don't forget the dash of nutmeg. Somehow it ties all of the other flavors together in a subtle but distinctive way. It may not look like much, but it is a plate of pleasure.

Fettuccine with Ricotta or Chèvre and Asparagus

from the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
serves 4 - 6

3/4 lb tender young asparagus ( or 1/2 lb asparagus and 1/4 lb broccoli crown)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced - optional
2 tablespoons fresh green wild fennel, minced
1 lb fettuccine
6 quarts water
1/2 lb fresh creamy ricotta or mild goat cheese
dash nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Trim touch ends off asparagus after rinsing them. Cut tender parts into 2-inch lengths. Cut broccoli crown into small florets.

In a sauté pan, over low heat and covered, gently stew the garlic, asparagus and broccoli in the oil until the vegetables are tender but not brown, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in mint and fennel if using. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water until tender. While pasta cooks, extract 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and mix it in a small saucepan with the ricotta or chèvre. Set saucepan over low heat and gently cream the ricotta and cooking water. When the ricotta is warm, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Drain the cooked pasta and combine immediately with the cheese sauce, tossing to mix well. Arrange over a warm platter and pour asparagus mixture over the top, being sure to scrape all of the cooked garlic onto the pasta and veggies. Sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese and serve at once.

A Simple Stir Fry on Beautiful Bamboo

Some days a little forethought means that dinner will be easy. On Saturday I had time in the late afternoon to cut up the veggies for a nice stir fry and we actually had the right kind of ingredients in the fridge. Mushroom slices and chopped yellow onion make a great base. Slender slices of red pepper and carrot go well with chopped celery and florets of broccoli. Sweetie likes to steam them for a couple of minutes in the microwave before adding them to the stir-fry itself.

I like brown rice so I started some about an hour before dinner time. Sweetie likes small pieces of pork chop with this mixture of veggies. I found some Soy Vay sesame seed laced teriyaki sauce to add at the end for seasoning. It really was easy and tasty, too.

Before my bouts with cold, flu and hay fever I received a lovely box from Sarah Bentley at Restaurantware.com which contained earth friendly serving pieces to try. My creativity seems to have deserted me along with my health so I've not found too many things to serve in the cute server ware. There is a darling tiny fry pan and a variety of small skewers which are much nicer than toothpicks. One small bowl is made from bamboo and so is a small plate and the other two are recycled plastic and there are two cups as well and a couple of silver toned spoons. I know that I'll be posting dishes soon that make use of some of these and I appreciate the opportunity to try them.

I served the stir fry on the largest piece, a molded bamboo leaf squared off plate. It is really beautiful with natural bamboo marking and golden color and a nice touch of dark brown on the reverse. It is very lightweight and sturdy and feels nice in the hand. I think it is supposed to be single use but I washed it gently so that I can use it again for another dish...and post. If this sounds like something you might like, do check out their web site at plastic plates or http://www.restaurantware.com/. If you are going to have a party, or love appetizers presented beautifully on biodegradable tableware, you will love the variety and elegance of their selections.


Pork Stir Fry

1 recipe steamed rice
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
4 oz boneless pork chops, cut into bit sized pieces
garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 -1 red bell pepper, cored, seeds discarded and cut in thin slices
2 medium carrots, cleaned and cut into matchsticks
1 small head broccoli, divided into florets
1 stalk celery, chopped or sliced
2-3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce or soy sauce

In a large non-stick skillet or wok sauté the mushrooms and onion until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet or wok and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet or wok with a paper towel. Add the rest of the oil and heat it. Season the pork pieces with garlic salt and pepper if desired. Stir-fry the pork until edges are golden brown.

While pork is cooking, steam the bell pepper, carrots, broccoli, and celery in the microwave for 2 minutes at 70% power. Drain.

Add the steamed veggies to the pork when it is cooked. Add 2 -3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce (optional) or soy sauce. Toss with pork and vegetables and cook 1 minute.

Serve the stir-fry over a bed of the steamed rice. Serve at once.

Serves 4

Until We Meet Again

Who knew that getting ready to have a house tented to treat for termites could be so exhausting? My daughter laughed when I expressed those sentiments...she said it was like moving, only you return to the same house. Since I hate moving, that explains a lot.

So, dear friends, signing off for a few days. Going off into the woods to Camp Meeker to a lovely vacation home after work tomorrow. Except for a lunch in town on Friday, I will read and sleep and take walks with the dog and clear my brain. No cell phone service, nor Internet. Let's just hope that the power is back on there by the time I finish working. I know it's called Camp Meeker, but I'm not really wanting to camp out with lanterns.

If I had been smart, I would have put this casserole by Shirley Walker, a friend of mine, together to bake up tomorrow night at "camp". It needs to chill for a while (8-36 hours) to meld the flavors. Try it with multi-grain bread, too. Sorry no photo for this one, but you can well imagine the green of the broccoli, brown of the bread and mushrooms, the bubbly yellow orange cheddar cheese, with some of those great browned bits, too. Mmmm.

Broccoli Mushroom Strata
by Shirley Walker

1 loaf (1 pound size, ½ inch thick slices) whole-wheat bread, crusts trimmed
¼ cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine, divided
1 large onion, diced
½ pound mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
3 cups cooked broccoli flowerets OR 1 package (16 oz) thawed frozen broccoli spears
2 tablespons dry basil leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
6 large eggs
3 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Line the bottom snugly with a single layer of bread, cut to fit (edges can overlap slightly). Make another layer of bread to fit on top, then lift out an set aside.

In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and ad onion and mushrooms. Stir often until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Spoon into a bowl.

Chop the broccoli. Melt the remaining butter in the frying pan and add the broccoli; stir often until broccoli is very dry. In the frying pan, stir together broccoli, basil, pepper, and onion mixture.

Distribute half the vegetable mixture over the bread layer, then cover evenly with half the cheese. Cover with the reserved bread; repeat to make the top layer.

Beat the eggs and milk until blended and pour over the casserole, moistening evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 8 to 36 hours.

Bake, uncovered in preheated oven until edges of casserole are lightly browned and center is firm when gently touched, about 45 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes on a rack. Cut into rectangles.

Serves 6-8
Note: Different kinds of whole-wheat breads can be used in this dish. Choose a standard, whole-wheat, one with wheat berries, or try a multi-grain bread.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

Mustuse Pie

For years I worked for a doctor who had his practice located on an old cherry orchard property near Occidental. He had remodeled an old barn down the hill from his home, and turned it into a great office, with stained glass and Oriental rugs and a wood stove. Since it was far from the usual medical centers, it became what he called a 'self-limiting' practice.

One of the nice things about working there was that over time I became friends with most of his children and family, as well as with the others who lived on the farm. Each year when the Derby race took place in Louisville, KY, there would be a Derby Day party at the farm, too. The doctor and others at Rainbow's End grew up in Louisville, so it was a traditional party, with mint juleps and a betting pool. We would watch the race on televisions set up high over the heads of the enthusiastic crowd. For many years it was a huge party, but in the last few years it has become smaller, which I like better. This year, on Saturday, I brought my Mustuse Pie for the potluck and enjoyed catching up with some pretty nice people.

So what, exactly, is a Mustuse Pie? It's the kind of dish that gets put together when you hunker down in front of the fridge and go through it. This half of a baked potato gets pulled out along with these steamed broccoli flowerets, the rest of the egg substitute, some non-fat ricotta cheese, those blanched green beans, a bit of cooked chopped spinach, this tomato which is starting to soften, but is still good...all the leftovers from the week that we must use up. I have Grandma L. to thank for this cute name for what is basically leftovers.

Since lots of the folks at the potluck are vegetarians, I didn't add any meat or poultry, or even fish. I did boil up some whole wheat spaghetti, broken in half first, but otherwise mostly used leftovers. You could add cubed cooked chicken or turkey, some sausage, or cooked shrimp, too. This isn't really a hard and fast recipe, but sort of suggestions for your own combinations of items that are 'must use' when you make the pie. It may sound like a hodge podge, but it sure makes a tasty dish.

Mustuse Pie
serves 4-6

1/2 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente', and drained well

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 baked potato, cut in half and sliced

1 cup or so blanched green beans, cut into one inch pieces
1 cup or so steamed, chopped spinach (O.K. to use frozen, but drain well)
1/2 cup steamed broccoli
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 lb ricotta cheese (I used non-fat)
3 eggs, or equivalent egg substitute
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Salt & pepper

1 medium to large tomato
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Oil the bottom and sides of an 8 inch diameter pie plate.
Cook the pasta and drain well.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick or seasoned cast iron skillet, then saute' the onions and garlic until onions are transluscent, about 4 minutes. Add the potato and cook another minute or two until one side is lightly browned.
Add the beans, spinach, broccoli, basil and rosemary to the skillet, stir, cover, reduce heat, and cook until vegetables are just heated through.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta and feta cheese with the eggs, mixing well to blend. Stir in the drained pasta, then fold in the vegetable mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into the prepared pie plate. (If there is too much for one pie, just oil another pie plate and make another pie with the rest.)
Slice the toamto into 5 or 6 slices. Arrange over the mixture in the pie plate, then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pasta starts to brown and the cheese melts. Cool slightly before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.