Adventures in Cooking

[mamajoan]

I made lasagna last night for the first time ever. I credit the ACIDIC folks for giving me the impetus and the courage to try it. ;) I used ricotta cheese mixed with eggs; shredded mozzarella; and a canned alfredo sauce. Plus a little parmesan sprinkled on top. It came out a bit runny -- the fault of the alfredo, which was that way from the start -- but it still tasted very good and I ate more of it than I should have before putting the rest in the fridge for later. ;)

I didn't put any veggies in it, because I didn't have any that were appropriate. Next time I'll try some shredded spinach and maybe shredded carrots too. Any other veggie suggestions (don't say mushrooms cuz I hate 'em)? Broccoli was suggested, which of course I had thought of because I love broccoli, but I didn't know whether it would work in lasagna. Unless, I suppose, you chopped it up reeeeeally tiny. Which is probably more work than I'm willing to put in. ;)

In other news, last night I watched the previous night's "West Wing" and my one thought about that is, I wish more Catholics were like President Bartlet. But then, I wish more *people* were like Bartlet in general anyway. Martin Sheen could so run for President for real. I would totally vote for him.

Also, I've been thinking this for a really long time now and I just have to say it. Is Bradley Whitford (Josh on WW) the secret illegitimate father of Tom Lenk (Andrew on BTVS) or WHAT?!?!?! They look so alike it's scary! I swear! BTW, I still haven't seen this week's Buffy episode, but now I've been slightly spoiled for it. :P

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. :P It *would* be gorgeous and sunny and warm on a Friday, and then snowy and icky on Saturday. The weather gods are punishing us for something. Probably for the recent elections.

Comments

[tiggrrl.livejournal.com]

Broccoli works really well in lasagne, but yeah, you have to make it relatively small. One of the best ways to do it is to buy a bag of frozen broccoli florets or pieces and then just make them their own layer, so that it's realatively even all the way across. I also like to add zucchini or crook-neck squash, but that can make for a runnier lasagne. It's great if you're going to make the kind where you don't pre-cook the noodles though.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

But if you get frozen, do you have to cook it first? The frozen broccoli I usually get is the kind that you put in boiling water (still in its plastic bag) and boil for like 15 minutes to cook it.

I got a kind of lasagna noodle at the store that said "no pre-cooking needed." I didn't want to have to mess around with figuring out how to cook the noodles ahead of time!

I've been told to saute the zucchini before putting it in lasagna, to make it less watery.

[tiggrrl.livejournal.com]

No, the broccoli goes in frozen, and cooks in the lasagne like everything else.