Veggie Marinara Pasta Bake

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

Rarely does pasta sound unappealing to me. I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before. My go-to recipe is creamy, heavy on the basil and garlic. This isn’t that recipe. This one’s slightly chunky, not at all creamy, but also a sauce I rely on pretty frequently when making marinara sauce.

Everyone has their own preferred pasta shape. Some folks like spaghetti – angel hair, thin, or regular. Others like egg noodles or bow ties. Maybe macaroni, penne tubes?  Fettuccini, those weird ear shaped noodles? I prefer spirals. The little grooves simply ask for sauce to get caught up in there! You can use whatever you want in this recipe, really.

When my parents separated, my mom went through a period where she cooked spaghetti all the time.  I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for telling the world. Especially since today’s her birthday… (Sorry, Mom!) I hated spaghetti at that point in my life. I don’t know if it really had anything to do with those poor noodles and the sauce that gradually went from all homemade to doctored up jarred sauces to just jarred sauces. It’s okay. I don’t hold a grudge (for too long). This sauce would be great on plain ‘ole spaghetti–skip the baking part all together if you’d like (although baked spaghetti is pretty damn good, too!).

You can’t possibly mess this up. It’s an easy mid-week meal. You can even put it together ahead of time, then stick it in the oven when you’re ready.

Veggie Marinara Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1- small orange bell pepper, diced
1- stalk celery, minced
1- carrot, peeled and diced small
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2- 14½ oz. cans fire roasted crushed tomatoes
3½ cups water or vegetable broth
4 oz. tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
½ tsp. dried coriander
½ cup red wine (if you have it on hand)
pinch of sugar

1 pound pasta spirals
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. butter

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Sauté the onion and bell pepper, until soft and the onion is transluscent. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic. Sauté until the vegetables are softened.

Add in the grape tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Stir until well combined. Add in the bay leaves, basil, salt, thyme, oregano, granulated garlic, pepper, coriander, and sugar. Stir in the water or broth, tomato paste, and wine if using. Cover and allow the sauce to cook for 2-3 hours. (Longer won’t hurt the sauce, just remember to stir it occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pot.)

When you’re about ready to assemble the dish for baking, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

Drain the pasta and pour into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Stir the butter and grated parmesan cheese into the hot pasta, coating the spirals well. Add a generous amount of sauce, stirring to coat the pasta. Add in 1 cup of the mozzarella and half of the cheddar cheese. Add more sauce, mixing everything well. (I ended up with about 2 cups of sauce leftover for another time—it freezes well—but you can add as much or as little sauce as your prefer.) Top with the remaining mozzarella and cheddar.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until everything is bubbly and the cheese on top has melted. Serve hot.

Posted in Dinner, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Peanut Butter Oat Banana Smoothie

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

I have really weird eating habits sometimes. My cravings often come week-by-week. Some weeks all I want to eat are dark greens: spinach, kale, collards, chard. The next week the only things that sound good are breakfast related: pancakes, french toast, maple oatmeal, eggs. We’ve had breakfast for dinner twice in the last week, as well as Mexican food nearly every day in between. Except last night I ate beets, swiss chard, quinoa, and buffalo wings.

There were times in my life where I’d worry about such things. Having gone through years of various eating disorders, there were often times I’d count calories and not dare go over my daily limit. Specific cravings weren’t uncommon at those times in my life, either. But I never paid much attention. Too much of my energy was being spent on avoiding food, rather than listening to what my body wanted. I’ve gotten a lot better at listening to cravings. Especially the ones that obviously have some nutrient-value… Like craving dark greens at certain times of the month when my body can use the extra iron. Or heavier protein cravings after long, intense workouts.

For a long time I had smoothie-apprehension. Not for any good reason, really. Maybe the hassle of having to wash the blender parts by hand outweighed any smoothie desire? I’ve been having one specific smoothie craving for the last week. I could drink this every day. Except on the days, maybe, where I’m only craving salt and vinegar Kettle chips.

Peanut Butter Oat Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 medium bananas, frozen
¾ cup vanilla almond milk
¼ cup old fashioned oats
¼ cup macadamia nuts
2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp. vanilla yogurt

Directions:

Soak the oats in your almond milk for 30 minutes to 1 hour (or overnight if you want to throw this together in the morning).

In a high-powered blender, combine all the ingredients. Blend until smooth. If the smoothie is too thick for your liking, simply add more milk.

Yields approx. 2½ cups.

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, Kids, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

I don’t remember where I first discovered whoopie pies. I still don’t understand why they are called pies, rather than cake, which really is what these are. Two moist, semi-fluffy, cakes sandwiched together by a lovely cream filling.

If you go to Foodgawker, (one of my absolute favorite food-related sites on the internet) and search “whoopie pie,” the results are vast. Pumpkin whoopie pies, red velvet whoopies, peaches and cream, chocolate mint, banana, sweet potato, lemon, salted caramel, green tea… The possibilities are limited only to your imagination.

A couple months ago, I was browsing the Williams-Sonoma site and saw their whoopie pie pans on sale. Now generally, I resist purchasing such things because I know they don’t fall into the “much needed” kitchen gadget realm. But… it was on sale. So I resisted my resistance, then waited very patiently for nearly two months while my precious whoopie pie pan continually got back-ordered. (I easily could’ve gone with the Wilton brand, which has never given me a bad baking product. Oh well.)

Yesterday seemed like a good day to bake some whoopie pies, but where to start? I knew I didn’t want the typical plain, vanilla cream. (Not that I don’t appreciate the stuff, it’s just a little boring when you’ve got no restraints about what you could be making instead.) I had some dark unsweetened cocoa (I like Frontier Cocoa Powder, which I can get in bulk… but use what you’ve got or like! Even if it isn’t dark chocolate…) so I decided on a dark chocolate cake. Peanut butter simply sounded good, so I opted for a peanut butter buttercream filling. Oh my goodness.

My husband says he usually has self-control when it comes to eating sugary things… but he cannot stop eating, or wanting to eat, these whoopie pies. The last one, he cut a quarter off. Ate it. Sat for 5 minutes, then cut off another quarter. I’m guessing the remaining half won’t last until dinner time. I’m not complaining; I fully believe in allowing yourself to indulge in chocolate and peanut butter as you see fit. These are a great place to start.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

You need a whoopie pie pan for these little guys!

Ingredients: 

For the cakes (recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma):

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup dark, unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. sea salt
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 egg, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk (I used 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar + 2 tbsp. and ¾ cup whole milk), at room temperature

For the filling:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Lightly grease the wells of your whoopie pie pan.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar over medium speed, until well combined (1-2 minutes). Add the vanilla and egg, then beat until fluffy and light (2-ish minutes). Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl, then over low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, mixing only until the ingredients are just combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 30 seconds.

Place 1 tablespoon of batter in each well of your pan. Once all the wells are filled, tap the pan on the countertop, to evenly distribute the batter (and to release air bubbles!). Bake for approximately 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack too cool completely. Wipe out the wells of your pan and repeat the above mentioned process, until all the batter is used up.

While the last batch of cakes is cooling, prepare the filling.

In the clean bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla until well combined. Over low speed, slowly add the confectioners sugar a little at a time, until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the filling until it’s light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).

To assemble the whoopie pies, spread or pipe about 2 tablespoons of filling on the flat side of half of the cakes. Top each one with another cake, dome-side up.

Yields: 1 dozen whoopie pies

  • If you’re not eating these right away, wrap them up in plastic wrap and refrigerate. They’re best served at room temperature, but are not bad cold, either! :)

Posted in Baking, Dessert, Kids, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Notes from Chicago

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

Afternoon chocolate delivered to our door. Thanks, Kimptons.

Growing up on a little island off in the sea, I’ve always preferred smaller towns to overly busy cities. There are upsides and downsides to living in an area where you know everyone walking downtown or in the grocery store. While walking back to our hotel yesterday after an AWP session, I actually felt for the first time, a fascination and appreciation for the anonymity of being in a larger city. I don’t think I’ll ever have the desire to live somewhere so constantly busy, but visiting Chicago has been very enjoyable.

AWP has been an interesting experience. I’ve gone to a number of panels talking about online networking, blogging, putting yourself out there in the world in these ways. It has been encouraging as a blogger, as well as a writer. However, I also realized yesterday that I am almost certain I am the world’s worst social conversationalist ever in the history of the world. I told Craig that’s probably the reason I enjoy writing; it’s a way to say what I’d say, if I did enjoy talking to people. Or if I could easily talk to folks without being so in my head, getting stressed out by being unsure of what the hell I’m saying or not saying. For instance, I got on the AWP shuttle yesterday and a very sweet young woman asked if she could sit next to me. “Sure!” I replied. Then I thought to myself, hmm I should ask where she’s from… Or if she’s a writer? Editor? Student? Or if she knows of any cool parties happening tonight after the panel discussions… Or… Instead, I sat there looking out the window thinking of what I wasn’t saying, wondering why I am not someone who will simply say to a friendly looking person, “Hi!”

That feeling passed after the 5 minute bus ride. Last night Craig played at Buddy Guy’s Legends, with other writers who are also musicians. We opted for dinner there, which of course was Southern influenced and delicious… We both ordered the smothered catfish: two huge fillets of perfectly fried fish, topped with crawfish etoufée, along with rice and collard greens. I got a Chicago brewed Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale to go alongside my dinner.

After Writers Who Play finished up, Craig noticed the blues band musicians casually making their way near the stage. We ended up staying a while longer to listen to Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang. It’s difficult to beat real blues in downtown Chicago, sipping on Knob Creek bourbon (myself) and Don Julio tequila (Craig), at the front of the stage.

Craig Wright, Will Jennings, Chris Tarry

Eddie Shaw

Eddie Shaw and Eddie Vaan Shaw Jr.

Lafayette "Shorty" Gilbert

Oh, on the food note again… The Southern Mac and Cheese Store is right around the corner from our hotel. After a couple morning sessions, we stopped in for lunch. I wasn’t that hungry and we decided to share. The menu featured a number of vegetarian options, such as truffle white cheddar and sun dried tomato with gouda and caramelized onions. There were also meaty options, like smoked bacon with blue cheese and roasted mushrooms, or pulled chicken with blue cheese and buffalo sauce. We decided on the southern style pimento: sharp cheddar, pepper jack, horseradish, and red peppers. Oh my goodness. It was creamy, perfectly toasty on top, and just the right amount of spicy.

We’ve got a couple more days left in the city. I always enjoy traveling, although there’s a part of me that thinks every time I’m about to leave, that it’ll feel good to come home, too.

Posted in Life, Restaurants, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Storms, Chicago, Pizza and Play

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

We are in Chicago for AWP 2012. Last night, while still in Ashland we worried about the storm that was a’brewin’, as we were planning to leave the house at 4:45 AM and snow, storms… they don’t work well with travel sometimes. This morning, however, despite icy windows we didn’t have any problem getting to the airport.

I experienced my first airport pat-down. Who knew if you put your ID into your back pocket before going through the body scanner it’s cause for alarm? Not I! 5 AM is a little early for a butt-pat down by some random security woman. I’d only had one cup of coffee by that point! Oh well.

Once we got on our flight, snow started dumping from the sky. We sat for awhile while this mechanical alien (and a real-life person with a hose) de-iced the plane. Not too long after, we were off! I love flying.

We made it to Salt Lake City right on time, with a two hour layover. I packed bagel sandwiches for Craig and I — because spending $15 on a so-so sandwich at the airport is silly. They were full of Tofurky, cream cheese, mustard, green leaf lettuce, mozzarella, black pepper, and basil on Dave’s Killer Good Seed Halos. We also packed sweet potato chips, water, and various little snacks (seitan jerky, Luna bars, chocolate peanut butter squares).

I remember flying many times as a kid and having a strange fascination with airplane food. Of course this was when a meal was included with your ticket cost, not something you had to pay extra for. I don’t know if my love for airplane food had something to do with the individually wrapped compartments on my plate, since I don’t actually remember the food… just the little compartmentalized items, like cafeteria lunches in elementary school. These days I don’t have a fascination with airline meals. I prefer to pack something myself that will be enjoyable and filling, rather than something alien-looking.

We made it to Chicago. I’ve never been here in This Hotel before, which always makes traveling a lot more fun and adventurous. We are staying at a Kimpton hotel downtown… They are always so nice to us at these hotels: we had a fabulous room upgrade, offering the view above. The free wine hour right before dinner is always lovely. Tonight there was also a cocktail demonstration from the adjacent restaurant, including a round of brandy-based delicious concoctions for us. We are right on the river, which is always welcomed by this water-loving girl. Oh, and you can most certainly borrow a goldfish from the hotel to keep in your room, making it a little more homey feeling.

I am a Yelper. Every time we are traveling, I scour Yelp before we leave, as well as when we’re there, looking for the best hole in the wall spots to eat. Or the places that’ll be most delicious. Toni’s Pizza and Organic Pizza sounded like the place for us–included on the menu was a stuffed spinach and cheese pizza, one of their most popular items. We got the pizza delivered, right at wine hour. Classy!

Good lord. We ordered a large, which Craig and I can usually polish off pretty well. This pizza must’ve weighed ten pounds. Ten pounds of amazing, perfectly cheesy, spinachy, goodness. The crust was not at all oily, perfectly done, flaky, and tasty. The sauce–equally delicious. We ate 1½ slices each, thus leaving 5 more slices to go. Breakfast (and lunch!).

We’ll be attending various AWP panels all day tomorrow; Craig more of the fiction-oriented, myself the online publishing/poetry oriented. On top of that, we’ve got food plans…

Posted in Life, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

A couple summers ago, Craig and I met up with his dad and stepmother in Atlanta, Georgia. From there we traveled through Alabama and Mississippi, into Louisiana, en route to Texas, before Craig and I headed back to Oregon. Not only was it fun to trek across the South and see some new places, but the food was often delicious, too.

In Alabama, we stopped at Golden Rule BBQ, where Craig’s dad insisted I get the smoked beef brisket. I remember it being tender and tasty, although I’m not generally big on beef. In Vicksburg, Mississippi, we ate at Rusty’s Riverfront Grill and had an AMAZING dinner. Our forty minute wait to be seated was made okay by ordering a round of delicious top shelf margaritas and fried green tomatoes topped with hollandaise sauce and lump crab as an appetizer. Then I ordered Rusty’s House Specialty: blackened redfish topped with a crawfish cream sauce. Phenomenal. Craig ordered an oyster po’boy, which he said was delicious, although oysters are on my list of foods never again wanting to be consumed. Mimi ordered a cajun shrimp pasta dish and Pops got the filet mignon, which was also topped with a lump crab cream sauce.

When we got to Natchitoches, Louisiana, Lasyone’s was a must for their famous meat pies (crawfish pies for Craig). We got there right at lunch time and I ordered a meat pie, a half-order of their notable red beans and rice without sausage, as well as a half order of dirty rice. Although I had various bowls of beans and rice before, there was always more to them: sour cream, cheese, salsa, etc. I think I was almost expecting something similar. Then my plate came out–a bed of white rice topped with dark red beans and a decent amount of sauce. No frills, nothing fancy. It was delicious.

I’ve made red beans and rice numerous times since returning to the west coast. The first time, I thought I did something wrong, because my pot of beans was very soupy-looking. Louisiana-born Craig reassured me that this is what a pot of red beans is supposed to look like: the soupy stuff is not to be feared! I’ve made versions that include vegetarian ground sausage (like ground beef) as well as rounds of sausage. I’d like to make my own veggie sausage sometime, specifically for these red beans–something smoky and spicy. I haven’t found a pre-made product that quite fits. Field Roast‘s Mexican Chipotle is close, but not quite what I’m aiming for. In the meantime, Tofurky works okay, too. This pot of beans is somewhat spicy–serve untraditionally with sour cream if you’d like. :)

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1½ lbs. (3 cups) dried small red beans
enough water to cover beans by 3-4 inches
2 tbsp. olive oil
1- 14oz. pkg. Tofurky Kielbasa or your preferred veggie sausage, cut into ¼-inch rounds
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 bay leaves
¼ tsp. dried sage
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning (I like “Slap Ya Mama” blend)
2 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s is tasty)
8 cups water

2 cups long grain white rice (or Basmati rice)
4 cups water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
¼ tsp. sea salt

*optional ingredients:
1 tbsp. honey
1 lemon, halved with seeds removed and skin intact
1 tsp. sugar

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight in a large pot enough water to cover them by 3-4 inches. Drain and rinse.

In a skillet heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium high-heat and cook the Tofurky sausage until it’s well browned on both sides (10-15 minutes). Set aside.

In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the bell pepper, garlic, and celery. Stir to combine then cook until the peppers and celery are tender (10-15 minutes). Add in the bay leaves, sage, cayenne, thyme, oregano, salt, paprika, Cajun seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well to combine all the ingredients and allow them to cook for a minute or two.

Add the sautéed sausage. Pour in the 8 cups of water and stir all the ingredients well. Cover, reduce heat to low. Cook for 3-4 hours, until the beans are very tender.

*After an hour of cooking, taste the sauce the beans are cooking in. If it’s too spicy for your liking add in the honey or sugar. Stir well. You can also add the halved lemon (it’ll absorb some of the spiciness–simply discard before serving).

45 minutes before serving heat the remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat, in a large skillet (with lid). Dump in the 2 cups of rice and stir to coat the grains in oil. Stirring frequently, toast the rice until it’s light brown and toasty-smelling. Stir in the butter and salt. Once the butter is completely melted, add the 4 cups of water. Stir, then cover your pot and reduce heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time! After 30 minutes check that the water has been completely absorbed (if it hasn’t, return cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes), then turn off the heat and gently fluff the rice before re-covering for 5 minutes.

Serve the beans over a bed of rice while everything is still hot. Enjoy!

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

IMG_7740_zpsa044dc31

My husband is the burrito king. I don’t know how, but he has burrito-truck/authentic taqueria radar. We can be driving down the freeway or through a town we’ve never been to, and somehow he manages to find the best burritos. We eat a lot of Mexican-influenced meals. I am not complaining, because the truth is I could happily eat a good burrito every day. In the moments I don’t want Mexican food, I’m usually craving Italian goodness, or sushi, or weird things like massive amounts of spinach cooked in garlic and tamari. If I could, without regret, eat a burrito for breakfast/lunch, then some kind of pasta for dinner every day, my stomach would thank me.

I’ve made this lasagna a couple times now and love the odd combination of sweet butternut squash and the savory taste of the basil white sauce, and cheese. Lasagna always takes a little bit of time to prepare, especially when you’re making everything from scratch, but it’s so worth it. The original recipe is from Giada de Laurentiis on Food Network. After making her recipe to a T, I decided I wanted more flavor in the sauce, as well as more ginger-bite in the squash (thus more cookies, and ginger ones, at that). The squash puree makes this lasagna pretty dense, but that also means it’s filling. It’s delicious as leftovers, too.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
2½ lbs. butternut squash, peeled + cut into 1”cubes
¾ cup water
5 ginger cookies*
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. granulated garlic
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano
3½ cups whole milk
pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh basil, loosely packed
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
15 lasagna noodles

* The original recipe calls for Italian amaretti cookies, which are hard, crispy cookies similar to a macaroon, made from ground almonds. I haven’t been able to find amaretti cookies, and while I’ve read you can replace them with graham crackers, almond biscotti, or macaroons, I prefer ginger cookies. Pamela’s Spicy Ginger Cookies with Crystallized Ginger, to be exact. 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch pan (or lasagna baking dish if you’ve got one). Combine the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl, then set aside. Boil the lasagna noodles according to the package directions, then set aside until you’re ready to put the lasagna together.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the squash, turning to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the water to your skillet. Cover the pan and simmer over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender. Allow the squash to cool slightly, then transfer to your food processor or high-power blender. Add the ginger cookies and blend until the mixture is smooth. Taste, then add more salt and pepper to your liking. Set aside.

Melt the butter over medium heat, in a medium-sized saucepan. Whisk in the flour, granulated garlic, onion powder, dried basil, and dried oregano. Continue whisking for about 1 minute, then whisk in your milk. Allow the mixture to come to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to simmering until the sauce thickens (5 or so minutes). Whisk in the nutmeg. Pour half of the sauce into your blender or food processor along with the 1 cup of fresh basil. Blend until smooth, then pour the mixture back into your saucepan and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Spread about ½ a cup of the basil-white sauce in your baking dish. Arrange 5 of the lasagna noodles on the bottom of your pan, slightly overlapping them (by approximately a ½-inch). Spread one third of the squash puree over the noodles, then one third of the sauce, then one third of the mozzarella/parmesan cheese mixture. Layer 5 more noodles, then one third of the squash, a third of the cheese blend. Add 5 more noodles, the last of your squash puree, then the last of your sauce. Reserve the remaining cheese for later.

Tightly cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Uncover, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Continue baking the lasagna uncovered, until the top is golden brown (15-20 minutes). Let the lasagna stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

 

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Sauces, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Meyer Lemon Bars with Macadamia Shortbread Crust

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

I learned some things today:

I learned that having two german shepherds who cumulatively weigh close to 200 pounds inevitably results in a yard full of nearly 20,000 pounds of dog crap.

I learned that scooping up 20,000 pounds of frozen dog turds on a sunny morning is not enchanting.

I learned that scooping up 20,000 pounds of semi-thawed dog turds on a sunny morning is even less enchanting.

I learned that if you’re at the library carrying a large stack of books with tags very obviously sticking out of them saying, “Held for Julie Hashimoto-McCreery,” little elderly women mistake you for someone who works at the library was willing to trust a property to orphan hence, she is planning to find trust lawyer as they can help her legally . And then they stare at you dumbfounded when you try very nicely despite being in a rush, with a smile, to explain you’re not sure where to find the book they’re looking for.

I learned that butternut squash lasagna is an interesting tasty concoction (more on that later). Hot sourdough bread is sinfully good. Vegan Caesar salad with homemade garlic croutons could be edible at every hour of the day.

I also learned that lemon bars are a miracle food. They make your grumpy self perk right up. They are little delightful morsels, especially when resting on a buttery macadamia nut shortbread crust. They’re even better the day after you’ve baked them.

Also, if you’re going to the gym and the oven says there are still 10 minutes left for your lovely little squares of lemon goodness to bake, be patient and wait 10 minutes. Do not turn off the oven, gently cover your pan with foil, then leave the house for nearly two hours. Unfortunately I wasn’t patient. The lemon bars still turned out tasty, but more done than I’d prefer. Good thing meyer lemons were on sale and I got enough to make another batch of lemon bars! Oh wait. Gluttony isn’t my friend… Moderation. Maybe.

  

Meyer Lemon Bars with Macadamia Shortbread Crust

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 cup butter, room temperature
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts

For the filling:
4 eggs
2¼ cups granulated sugar
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. FRESH squeezed meyer lemon juice
zest from 2 lemons (about 2 tbsp.)
seeds from 1 vanilla bean

additional confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

Lightly grease a 9×9-inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare the crust: cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour and nuts, mixing well until the mixture becomes crumbly. Once the dry crumbs become moist clumps of dough, turn off the mixer. Pour the dough into your prepared pan, then evenly press it into the bottom of the pan. Poke a few holes into the crust with a fork. Bake until lightly golden brown (25-30 minutes).

While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon filling. Whip the eggs in your stand mixer until they’re light yellow and well combined. Add the sugar, baking powder, flour, lemon zest and vanilla. Whip until well combined. Fold in the fresh lemon juice. Pour the mixture into your browned crust.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the lemon filling is set (no longer jiggly!). Allow the lemon bars to cool completely before cutting them!

Cut into squares. Dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar before serving if you want!

Enjoy!

Posted in Baking, Dessert, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Strawberries and “Cream” Oatmeal

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

I love oatmeal. For breakfast, lunch, dinner sometimes. Quick oats, old fashioned rolled oats, steel cut. Sometimes mushy, sometimes drier. Usually hot, sometimes cold. You can cook it in water, milk, both. Even a bit of fruit juice if you want a slightly different flavor. Plus you can keep it healthy with fresh or dried fruits, or go over the top and add chocolate, peanut butter, butter, sugar.

Oatmeal can lower cholesterol levels and help reduce your risk of heart disease. It has more soluble fiber than whole wheat. It’s chock-full of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. It’s quick, inexpensive, and versatile enough to borderline ridiculous.

I liked oatmeal as a kid. My mom would make a big pot, following the directions on the Quaker Oats canister: water, milk, a pinch of salt. Then she’d leave brown sugar, butter, more milk, cinnamon, and raisins on the countertop for us to add to our liking. I always added more butter and brown sugar than necessary. I probably still do. There are times I still crave that exact style of oatmeal. However, I’ve gotten more adventurous about what I add to my oats. Bananas, blueberries, crystallized ginger, chopped macadamia nuts, or walnuts, or pecans. Dried coconut, vanilla, nut butters, agave syrup, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, crumbled energy bars, pumpkin puree. Endless possibility.

The following recipe is vegan. Or if that ain’t your thing, you can toast the oats in butter, add regular dairy milk. It’s good though. And easy. And kid-approved (at least here it is).

 

Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. coconut oil
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1½ cups water
1 cup vanilla rice/soy/almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. unsweetened coconut
1 cup strawberries, diced
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil in a medium-sized pot until it liquifies. Add the oats and toss to coat. Toast the oats until they’re fragrant and lightly brown (10-15 minutes), over medium heat.

Add in the water, milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Let the mixture cook for about 5 minutes. Once it begins to bubble up or steam, stir constantly for about 5 more minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Once the oats are you preferred consistency (a little bite left, or mushy), they’re done. While still over medium heat, stir in the vanilla, brown sugar, coconut, strawberries, and cinnamon.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

 

Posted in Breakfast, Kids, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fluffy Vanilla Pancakes

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

I remember lacking all excitement about pancakes as a kid, especially in the morning. Sometimes I’d watch Japanese horror movies with my mom at night and we’d get hit with the 10 o’clock munchies. I remember we’d make two giant pancakes–one for her, one for me. My mom made pancakes a lot. Never from a store bought mix, always from scratch. In my adult life, I have a new appreciation for the fact that she got up every morning before the sun came up and had breakfast ready for four kids who barely got out of bed and out the door, to the bus stop in time, even if breakfast was pancakes–a lot of the time. She’d always wrap them up and stick the leftover ‘cakes in the fridge, which I loved when I got home from school. I much preferred cold pancakes in the afternoon to hot ones in the morning. My mom made plain pancakes. Sometimes with sprinkles, or chocolate chips. Sometimes with bananas. Or bananas and walnuts or macadamia nuts. Sometimes filled with corn.

Breakfast isn’t exactly my thing… I love breakfast foods, but coffee is more or less my morning staple, and by the time I’ve had two cups or so, I’m not hungry for a large meal. However, feeding everyone else is still necessary. Silas and Craig request pancakes often. Truth is, they really aren’t difficult to make from scratch–often including ingredients you’re bound to have on hand. That’s why I never understood pre-made mixes that are inevitably overpriced.

I like variety to my pancakes, so sometimes I’ll make lemon blueberry, or cinnamon-swirl, or chocolate chip, or rainbow, or cinnamon apple, or pumpkin, or carrot cake, or coconut, or strawberry, or banana. Sometimes snakes with raspberry blood or weird faces, because pancakes actually offer quite a bit of room for creativity (seriously, check out Jim’s Pancakes! His “potty cake” design has been occasionally popular in our house, too).

Last night when I couldn’t sleep, I watched reruns of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Hulu. Don’t judge. The last episode I watched before falling asleep included a popular diner that had an array of pancakes. Seeing as 2 o’clock in the morning isn’t a practical time to make breakfast, I simply fell asleep thinking I’d make some big, fluffy, diner-style pancakes when I got up later. At normal human hours.

I’ve got my go-to (mom’s) recipe down to memorization. Her recipe uses oil in the batter, which I often replace with butter, and a little more of it. The following recipe is my own, although honestly, I think my pancakes are different every single time I make them. These really did come out deliciously though, and I even measured the ingredients. Just for you. (:

Fluffy Vanilla Pancakes

yields about 1-dozen 5″ pancakes

Ingredients:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. melted butter
2 eggs
1¼ cups milk
seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
pinch of salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In another container (I use my measuring cup), whisk together the melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla bean.

Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients, then pour in the milk mixture. Mix until smooth, then allow the batter to sit for about 5 minutes.

Heat a lightly oiled frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Scoop the batter onto the hot griddle (approximately ¼ cup per pancake). Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, then flip and cook until browned on the other side.

Serve hot.

* I like to keep my pancakes in the oven, at 225˚ F in a tightly covered dish/pan until all the ‘cakes are cooked. This allows them to steam for a little while as well, which creates a really soft, fluffy pancake. I serve them once all of the pancakes are done.

Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Kids, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments