Daring Bakers' April Magic

It’s the end of April and the Daring Bakers are out in force. Time for another visit to the Land of St. Honore’. The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.


Not so long ago in the Land of St. Honore’, the fairy godmother received an urgent summons from the castle.

Cinderella, now called Ella to distance her from her sordid past, was on the board of a charity. As is often the case these days just being a do-gooder wasn’t enough. She had been “asked” to provide a “Spectacular” dessert for an upcoming event and it was supposed to be something that she had baked herself. Now she had been a whiz at cleaning everything from the chamber pots to the fireplaces at her stepmother’s place, but no one had trusted her with baking since the fiasco of the well burnt cookies.

Her fairy godmother arrived and heard her tale of woe. “What did you have in mind”, she asked?

“Well, the only things in the castle kitchen include some plain cream cheese, plain cream, plain sugar, plain eggs, plain butter and the usual pantry items like crackers. I suppose there are some fresh strawberries, too. I can’t imagine that anything grand enough to be a centerpiece could come of all that.”

Ah, she certainly was a forgetful princess, wasn’t she? Didn’t she remember the transformations necessary to get her to the ball, all those years ago?

Wasting no time, “Bibity-bobbity-boo!”, cried the fairy godmother with a swirl of her magic wand. This time there were no gourds involved, but instead Ella saw a glorious cheesecake, crowned with strawberries and decorated with whipped cream stars appear on the counter in the kitchen.



“I’m sorry I doubted you”, she said breathlessly. “Now how do you suppose I’m going to carry that to the event in my Pumpkin SUV?”

But her fairy godmother had flown off to her yoga class, leaving Ella to call for her footmen. Surely they would figure it out. A cheesecake like this isn’t created every day.

If you’d like to work a little magic of your own, the recipe for the cheesecake can be found here.

The additions I used to make Ella’s fairy godmother’s version include adding 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the batter, not using any liquor, and adding ½ teaspoon cinnamon to the crust mixture. The top is decorated with sliced strawberries.

Small stars of whipped cream are piped on the sides


and a swirl is piped on the top near the center. I didn’t wave a wand or cry any magic words, but this cheesecake is an easy one and really doesn’t require magic, just careful attention to the recipe and a few hours of your time.

For the water bath part, I used a double layer of heavy duty foil to wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan and that was successful. No water infiltrated the foil, so the crust was dry and delicious.

This is a truly spectacular cheesecake, not just because it looks awesome, but because it isn’t too sweet, it has a rich, soft and creamy texture and, if left almost plain, has true cheesecake flavor. Try it and see!


Since the challenge this month encourages imagination, do visit other Daring Bakers’ blogs to see what magic has been created in hundreds of ways! Click here for the blogroll.

A huge ‘Thank you!’ to Jenny for choosing such a great challenge recipe!

Egg Scramble

Sometimes simple ingredients are all you need for a satisfying eating experience. Scramble a few eggs together with some fresh spinach and a little shredded cheddar cheese and you have a plate of simple deliciousness. The mellowness of the eggs gets a kick from the spinach and the cheddar gets nice and melty. Dig in! You could also use Swiss chard instead of the spinach.

Spinach Scramble
Serves 2

4 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 teaspoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small cast iron skillet or saute' pan over high heat. If you are using a non-stick pan you might be able to skip the butter.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, then lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Put the butter into the pan to melt and heat a bit. Pour in the eggs, add the cheddar cheese and give the mixture a stir. Add the spinach and stir it in. Let sit for a few seconds, then stir again. Grind on some pepper and stir again. When eggs are cooked as firmly as you like, scoop onto two plates and sprinkle lightly with salt (if you want salt). All of this will take a very short time. Don't overcook the eggs.

Serve hot.

Oldie But Goodie Casserole

It is very interesting that newspapers and magazines are flooded with tips on ways to get through these tough economic times. I guess no one in the media knew a year ago that there were plenty of people going through economic hard times...it took the loss of income by upper middle class folks when the stock market took a dive to alert them.

The good news is that I've been there, done that, and have the scars to prove it. The mid '70s were difficult ones for me. I was laid off at a retail store...not enough sales...sound familiar? I did temp work, odd jobs, street vendor sales at Christmas, sewed my own Christmas gifts by hand because the sewing machine was broken and there was no spare money to fix it. When I went to the grocery store I added up each item in my shopping cart and returned the least needed items to the shelves until I had the amount of groceries that I could pay for with the cash in my pocket. I was young and had no expectation that I should be living a cushy life yet, so it really wasn't bad, but you do learn how to be frugal while having fun.
In ancient times, right around 1978, since we were experiencing a similar shortage of cash as many folks today, we turned to recipes that were less expensive to cook. The cookbook Moosewood Cookbook by the lovely and artistic Mollie Katzen had just been published and going vegetarian was one way of eating more healthfully and frugally at the same time. Her illustrations were wonderful. Everything was done by hand, then turned into a book. How appropriate.

One of my favorite recipes from the book can be made even healthier these days by using low fat cheese and egg substitute, although that costs a little more than with plain eggs and regular cheese. You could cut the amount of cheese, too . Even though fresh spinach is delightful, there was a sale the other day on frozen spinach, so I used that for this recipe. It needed to be defrosted and drained, but was then perfect for this dish.

I cooked the brown rice about an hour before I put the casserole together. You can also use leftover rice. The brown rice has lots of nutrients and I like the chewiness it gives this dish.

You can use this as a side dish, a main dish if you have a big salad on the side, or even for brunch. If you added some crumbled bacon or turkey bacon or veggie bacon bits to it, it is super brunch food.

Hope that you are experiencing enough prosperity that you can make this dish just because it appeals to you!

Spinach-Rice Casserolebased on a recipe from Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, 1977

2 cloves minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt (More, to taste)
3 tablespoons butter (I used 2 tablespoons olive oil)
2 lbs. raw, chopped spinach
4 cups cooked brown rice
4 beaten eggs (I used the equivalent amount of egg substitute)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons tamari (optional)
a few dashes each - nutmeg, cayenne
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
paprika

Saute' onions and garlic with the salt in butter (or oil). When onions are soft, add spinach. Cook 2 minutes. (Alternately, thaw and drain a 10 oz box frozen chopped spinach. Add to onion mixture, but don't cook any further.)
Combine the onion mixture with the brown rice, eggs, milk, cheese, parsley, tamari, nutmeg, cayenne. Spread into buttered casserole and sprinkle sunflower seeds, paprika on top.
Bake, covered, 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.

Serves 4 - 6

Wild

Bread baking never has to be dull. Using wild rice puts it on the wild side.

Making a bread with low salt content that is still tasty is a challenge, but one that sounded intersting to me, too. A friend had requested this when I offered to make her some bread.

I decided to go with my whole wheat sourdough starter, but it would taste good if you used some Rapid Rise yeast and water for the first part, too.

Wild rice cooked with no salt in the water was bound to give some good flavor. I added a piece of lemon peel, including lots of the pith, to the cooking water to impart some bitterness and the essential oil of the lemon. To punch up the flavor of the bread I decided to carmelize half an onion in a little olive oil. I added that just before shaping the dough into loaves.

This makes a great bread to go with soup or a stew and it makes wonderful sandwiches, too. When still warm from the oven it is delicious with just a touch of butter spread on the slice. We ate nearly half the loaf that way!

You can cook the rice the day before and drain it, but you can also cook it a while before making the dough, letting the rice cool and drain. Doesn't it look wild with the batter?


I used the drained liquid mixed with the milk for part of the dough liquid...more flavor added to the bread that way. you could also use buttermilk instead of the milk/lemon combination.



Wild Rice and Caramelized Onion Bread

As with all my sourdough recipes, if you don’t have sourdough starter, just substitute ½ cup warm water in which you soak 1 packet Rapid Rise yeast for 10 minutes. When it gets foamy, add another ½ cup water and use it where the starter is called for.

1 cup cooked wild rice, cooled and drained – cook in unsalted water with a large piece of lemon peel, including the pith, in the water. Save the drained liquid.
1 cup sourdough starter (I used the whole wheat version Polly)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 cups whole wheat bread flour, divided
about 4 cups unbleached bread flour or all-purpose flour, divided
juice of ½ a lemon
about 1 cup low fat milk
½ a medium onion, diced fine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg beaten with ¼ cup water – egg wash

In a large mixer bowl combine the wild rice, sourdough starter, maple syrup. Add the lemon juice to the milk and stir. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir into the wild rice mixture.
Mix together 1 cup of the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Add to the wild rice mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Let sit uncovered for 1 hour in a warm, draft free place.

Cook the the onion in the olive oil over medium low heat, stirring often, until lightly browned (caramelized). Set aside to cool.

Mix together the remaining flours.

Put the dough hook on the mixer and engage the bowl with the dough. Add the flour mixture to the dough a little at a time until the dough climbs the hook and cleans the side of the bowl. Let the mixer knead the dough this way for 5 minutes.

(Alternatively, stir in about half of the remaining flour mixture, then turn dough out onto a clean surface and knead in about another cup of the flour mixture until the dough is satiny and only a little sticky. Shape into a ball.)

If using dough hook, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead more flour into the dough, for about 3 minutes, until dough is satiny and only a little sticky. Shape into a ball.

Oil a large bowl and add the dough ball, Turn to coat the ball with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or damp linen towel and let sit in a draft free warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 ½ hours.

Punch dough down and turn out onto a clean surface. Knead for a few turns to force out air. Spread the dough out into a rectangle about 9 by 10 inches. Scatter about 1/3 of the onion onto the rectangle. Roll up jelly roll fashion and turn the ends in. Turn over and again press into a rectangle. Spread with another 1/3 of the onion mixture. Roll up jelly roll fashion and turn the ends in. Repeat with the last of the onions. (This distributes the onions throughout the dough...the final distribution is made by the kneading.)Begin kneading and knead a few minutes until the onion is evenly distributed.

Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf and put into a greased loaf pan. Cover pans with plastic wrap of damp linen towel and set in warm, draft free place to rise for about 45 minutes to an hour, until dough has doubled in bulk.

Lightly brush each loaf with the egg wash.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 40 – 45 minutes or until top is golden and bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom after turning out of the pan.

Makes 2 loaves.

I'm sending this over to that bread bakers's wonderland, Yeastspotting on Susan's Wild Yeast blog.

Happy Easter!

Tulips and daffodils,


green, green grass, sunshine (we got lucky), colored eggs; all are part and parcel of Easter at our house.



Without kids at home, we skip the Easter basket and candy, although I do have a brightly colored Easter basket on the table filled with colored egg shells from a few years ago. The ends were pierced and the egg blown out of them, then they were rinsed out and decorated. I keep them in an egg carton with the season decorations. They may last forever!

Today was the first morning that it was warm enough to eat breakfast outside (and we ate a few hours later than usual, too, which helps). We had a festive breakfast that included Sweetie's famous fruit bowls

plus the Bread Egg Nests with colored eggs that I tried this year.

Read all about the nests at the Bread Baker's Dog. They are yummy and you get a sweet roll and a soft boiled egg in one pretty packet.

Hope that your Easter, Passover, or other rite of Spring is delightful!

Perfect for Easter Breakfast or Brunch

This recipe makes enough dough for two pans of sweet rolls. The first pan I made was Raspberrry Pistachio Swirl buns. They were good and pretty, too.

To use the second half of the dough, I decided to make something that has flavors similar to Hot Cross Buns. The citrus zest comes off almost like citron and the raisins combine with the pecans and brown sugar for a sweet kick. Somehow the coconut, although only 1/4 cup's worth, ties it all together.

These were so good that it was really hard to stop eating them, expecially when they were still warm from the oven!

If you double the citrus/raisin/nut mixture you can easily make two pans of sweet rolls and be ready for a crowd at Easter brunch. This dough is very easy to work with and has the richness of milk and egg. Very festive and impressive.



Spring Citrus Raisin and Nut Sweet Rolls
Makes 10 sweet rolls in each pan

Ingredients:
6 1/2 tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) unsalted butter or margarine
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/2 cups - 4 cups unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
1 cup sourdough starter
1 1/4 cups whole milk (I used evaporated milk and water)
¼ cup (4 tablespoons or half stick) butter, melted and cooled
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup regular raisins
¼ cup golden raisins
zest from ½ a lemon
zest from ½ an orange
¼ cup grated coconut
½ cup pecans, chopped


Making the Dough:
Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening or butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand).

Whip in the egg and almond extract until smooth. Then add the flour, sourdough starter, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Fermentation:
Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Form the sweet rolls:
Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer ½ the dough to the counter. Reserve other half of dough for another batch of rolls, or double the citrus/raisin/nut mixture and make two pans of rolls.
Using your hands, push at dough to spread it into a rectangle approximately 8 by 10 inches. Spread the rectangle with the citrus/raisin/nut mixture (see below), leaving about an inch around the edges jam free.

Citrus/Raisin/Nut mixture:
In a mixing bowl combine the butter and brown sugar. Add the regular raisins, golden raisins, coconut, lemon zest, orange zest, and chopped pecans. Stir well to completely mix the ingredients.

Shape the sweet rolls:
Roll the dough up jelly roll fashion along the long side, sealing the edges once all rolled up. Pinch the ends of the roll closed. Using a serrated knife (like a bread knife) or dental floss, cut rolls about 1 inch wide.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch diameter cake pan with sides about 3 inches high. Put 3 of the rolls in the middle and put 7 more rolls around the edges, evenly spaced, leaving some space between the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Bake the Buns:
Preheat the oven to 375°F with the oven rack in the middle shelf.
Bake the sweet rolls for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool the buns:
Cool the sweet rolls in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove the sweet rolls from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving. Delicious when served warm. These rolls are sweet enough that you don’t really need to ice them.

These Spring Sweet Rolls are my entry this week in Yeastspotting event usually at Susan's wonderful blog, Wild Yeast. For a yeast lover this even is a never ending inspiration and delight. This week it's being hosted by Zorra of 1x umruhren bitte blog instead, and you can find it here.

Still Wonderful

Although this dish was created last month, there has been a lot going on lately, so it had to wait it's turn.

A steak is Sweetie's idea of good eating. It's not exactly healthy, but prepared this way it's wonderful. Using another of those cute bottles of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice, I created a marinade for the steak. It was delicious.

The rosemary and garlic went really well with the pomegranate juice and I think the juice kept the steak moist and juicy. There are healthier ways to enjoy this great juice, but if you are a meat and potatoes kinda person...try this.

Here's what it looks like after it's been marinated. The marinade begins cooking the meat a bit.



Pomegranate Rosemary and Garlic Marinated Steak

enough for steak for 3-4 people

8 oz. POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped roughly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place the marinade ingredients in a gallon size zipper lock plastic bag. Shake well to mix. Lay the plastic bag in a large baking pan, carefully un-zip and place the steaks in one layer in the marinade. Close plastic bag. Let marinate at room temperature for an hour, then turn the bag over and let the other side marinate for an hour.

Remove steaks from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the steaks to the degree of pinkness you desire. Serve at once.

Early Spring

April, here at last.

The apple blossoms have just begun to open their pale pink petals around the countryside. The winds have been pretty strong, so the pear blossom petals, always earlier than the apple blossoms, fly by the window like a shower of snow. The Easter candy is on sale at the grocery store, so it must surely be SPRING! After autumn, spring is my favorite season.

This salad is one that can be enjoyed year round, but seems sprightly, like spring. The crisp greens, juicy orange segments and kiwi slices contrast nicely with the chopped, toasted almonds and sweet dried cranberries and golden raisins. Use your favorite raspberry vinaigrette as dressing, or even a creamy one with blue cheese.



Early Spring Fruit Salad
6 cups mixed greens…I used romaine and butter lettuces
1 can mandarin orange segments in water, drained
1 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced thinly
¼ cup almonds, toasted, cooled, and chopped
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons golden raisins
In a large salad bowl place the greens, orange segments, and kiwi slices. Toss gently. Put salad on plates and sprinkle with the almonds, cranberries and golden raisins. Drizzle with dressing. Serve cold. Serves 4.

Dare to be a Kitchen Hero

Recently in the Land of St. Honore’, a Daring Baker of the female persuasion looked around the kitchen to make sure that she had all of the pots and pans, spoons and whisks, rolling pins and piles of ingredients she needed for the March challenge.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

The most important part of this challenge is the hand-made Spinach Egg Pasta. She is also going to use Lynne’s recipes for béchamel (white) sauce and her own zucchini based turkey ragu.

It was a new kitchen, so she wanted to be prepared. Her children watched in awe as she spun around, faster and faster and when she stopped she had on a red hat and was holding her scale.

She measured the pasta ingredients, grabbed her bench scraper and a wooden spoon and mixed together the green, sticky pasta dough with her bare hands.

Such fun! She let the kids help with the kneading so everyone could have greenish hands.

Once the dough was set aside to rest it was time for her next transformation.

First she gathered the Béchamel sauce ingredients and pot by the stove, then spun around and around in a blur and when she stopped she had on a slinky turquoise dress and carried her trusty whisk. The children’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Béchamel sauces need a lot of whisking, so she shared that task with the kids, too.

The day before she had partnered with her friend, The Mighty Flame, after she donned her ninja outfit and chopped up the zucchini for the ragu. Today he was helpful again with the Béchamel, but the kids kept their distance since he was so hot. She would never tell them just how hot…too much information.

While the kids took a nap, she returned to her normal appearance and made good use of her rolling pin, starting with snake shaped pieces of the dough

and ending up with long, thin, narrow sheets of green specked pasta, piled up on the counter with plastic wrap in between.

Time for a cup of tea and a salad for sustenance! Making lasagna noodles took real effort.

Too bad there was no rolling pin super hero persona to change to.

In the afternoon Flame helped her get a big pot of water boiling. The kids, awake again, found it fascinating to see how bright green the pasta looked as it came out of the boiling water

and how dull the green turned as it was instantly cooled when placed in the bowl of cold water near the stove. A quick drying on paper towels was all that was needed, then the fun began.

Flame did the spinning around thing and when he stopped he was dressed in green and wielding a spatula. As the Daring Baker of the female persuasion added the Béchamel sauce to the baking pan, he spread it out to a thin layer. She layered on the pasta, ragu sauce and more Béchamel, with El Spatulla helping with spreading when needed.

Grated real Parmesan was sprinkled on, too, in turn, and as the final layer over a layer of Béchamel.

By this time everyone was a bit tired and ready for the gorgeous lasagna to go into the oven to bake. Milk and cookies were enjoyed all around.

At dinner time the lasagna was baked and delicious. The thin sheets of pasta were delicate and full of flavor. The creamy sauce, pungent cheese and hearty ragu combined with the pasta to make the perfect meal. The kids even asked for seconds. Once again the Daring Baker of the female persuasion wished for another super hero persona…this time for photography. She was so tired that her photos of this grand and glorious dish are not of the best quality.

As she tucked the kids in to bed later that evening, she thought to herself, “and this morning I was just a mild-mannered housewife”. Thus ends the story for the March Daring Baker Challenge…pure fiction.

If you haven’t yet visited, please visit the NEW Daring Kitchen blog (Click on logo at right of this post...@X#!*Blogger isn't letting me do an actual link!), home of these super heroes and of the Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks. It has a blogroll so that you can visit lots and lots of other Daring Bakers’ blogs to see what super heroes they have been this month in creating their own version of the delicious lasagna.

Many thanks to Ivonne, Lis, Patricia (for the logo and hero images) and Steve for the new site. It’s awesome, people. Go take a look and you can see patricia’s super heroes of the kitchen who inspired my little story.

The March Challenge recipes for the lasagna noodles and the béchamel are from The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (published by William Morrow and Company Inc., 1992). The ragu is my own recipe, created over 25 years ago for my daughter.

Lasagna of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Béchamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Turkey Zucchini Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method

Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagna can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagna from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagna:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu.

Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagna:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagna. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagna rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagna, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)
Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.
2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:
Equipment
A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.

Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagna, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagna pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag. (NOTE: Since I was making the lasagna the same day, I didn't dry the pasta sheets.)

#2 Béchamel
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Turkey Zucchini Ragu
1/2 lb ground meat (beef or turkey - I use turkey)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium squash, cut into chunks (any summer squash, but zucchini works best)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatos in juice
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon dry basil
1/4 teaspoon dry rosemary
note - fresh oregano, basil and rosemary can be used - use twice as much, or more, to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In large skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Brown ground meat. Set aside.
Using same pan, cook onion and garlic until transluscent and barely brown, about 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

While meat and then onions/garlic cook, put half of squash in a blender. Add 1/2 of the can of tomato sauce and 1 tablespoon of water. Pulse blender, removing top and stirring every couple of pulses, until mixture is broken down but still chunky. Once onions have finished, pour this mixture into the pan. Lower heat to simmer and deglaze the pan with the tomato mixture, scraping up the browned bits.

Return browned meat to the pan and stir. Put the rest of the squash into the blender, add rest of tomato sauce, pulse the same way the first batch was done. Add this batch to the pan of meat mixture and stir.

Add diced tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper to pan, stir.

Return to boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer at least 2 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes to avoid scorching. (The longer the sauce simmers, the better it will taste.)

note - this sauce tastes even better if allowed to cool and left in the refrigerator overnight to blend the flavors. Reheat over low heat until simmering.

Verdict: This is not a heavy, gut busting lasagna, but a delicate, savory and delicious version. We liked it very much. It seemed to be best the day it was made and didn’t taste as good a few days later…the pasta seemed dry and the sauce not so creamy. It is a bit of work, but would be a nice celebration dish.

Thank you Mary, Melinda & Enza for choosing such a great recipe for the March Daring Baker challenge! I've never made fresh pasta before and would not have if y'all had not chosen this recipe. Great job!

Pretty Tasty Red Cabbage

I was talking with my friend Hil the other day and telling her about this pomegranate juice that I'm cooking with. I told her I might try some fruit soup or a sweet and sour beet salad. We moved on to talk about dinner that night and she mentioned that since she had been working so much that her vegetable options were limited...red cabbage was about it. The light bulb went on for me. Of course, red cabbage, red sweet and sourish pomegranate juice...perfect for braised sweet and sour red cabbage. I used some more of that great POM Wonderful juice.

Before we get to the cabbage, I want to show you a couple of photos I took of the wild Douglas iris in the woods at work. I love this time of year when they arrive and brighten up the areas where they bloom. Often the surrounding landscape is full of old dead grasses and weeds, so these spots of light purplish blue are a delightful contrast and delicately pretty, too.

Tonight I made that wonderful red cabbage dish and it was delicious! We had it with some zucchini and pork chops that Sweetie cooked on the grill. Today was truly a spring time day, so grilling seemed like the way to go.

Braised red cabbage couldn't be simpler and it's quick, too. Since you only use a small amount of olive oil it's also pretty light. Adding the pomegranate juice adds antioxidants, which I've heard are good for you although I still don't really understand about them.

The juice has been proven to be good for cardiovascular health, prostate health, erectile function...whoo-hoo, and helps with diabetes. According to the literature, not all pomegranate juices will provide these benefits.

Do a little research yourself if you are counting on these benefits. One thing I saw was that too much pomegranate juice, combined with cholesterol meds, can actually be dangerous. Well, that was an Internet alert which you can't always believe.

What you can believe is that this is a delicious, pretty, refreshing side dish that goes together quickly and easily.

Elle's Red Cabbage with Pomegranate Juice

Serves 4 -6

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large head red cabbage, sliced thin, then cut crosswise into roughly 2 inch lengths
8 oz. (1 cup) POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or more to taste)

In large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium hot heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute' for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent.

Add the cabbage and stir to coat with the onions and garlic.Stir in the pomegranate juice.

Sprinkle the balsamic vinegar and drizzle the honey over the cabbage. Add the pepper. Stir to completely combine.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

Serve hot.