Monster Vegetables

Hi Friends,
I know it LOOKS like I haven't been up to much in the kitchen lately, but it's really just that I've been a little lazy in actually writing up my posts.  Also, I am currently house sitting so I spent a few days literally scattered.  I decided to catch up with a post today covering my experiment with Fried Green Tomatoes and Vegetable Lasagna.  I decided on both of these recipes because I had gotten unusually large vegetables over the past two weeks.  Each veggie (tomato and zucchini) was too big to use as a garnish or a side and required a meal based entirely around them.  So...off we go!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Let's start with a caveat.  I used an enormous tomato from my share last week to try in this recipe.  It looked like a regular heirloom tomato, but it was green and yellow and red so I have no idea if it was technically a green tomato (non-ripened tomato) or something altogether different.  All I knew was that it was HUGE (as you can see from the photo to the left) and firm and that I could slice it into thick pieces for frying.

The recipe linked above calls for using a deep fryer, which I don't have so I went old skool and simply fried them in a pan.  I also messed up the tremendously simple directions and added the cayenne pepper and paprika to the flour mixture and not the panko mixture.  Oops.

I also didn't bother to make the buttermilk dipping sauce because I was lazy and didn't feel like it.  I just ate them on their lonesome.

The tomato itself was very tasty and the seasoning was nice, but uhg...too much oil.  They ended up too greasy for my tastes and I think if I were to try them again I'd give baking them a shot.  I have a feeling the crunchiness of the panko would be better suited to baking instead of frying.  I also probably shouldn't have been lazy and made the damn dipping sauce to negate some of the oily flavor.  If you're lazy like me and don't feel like making a sauce I think these would taste great with a little bit of ranch dressing or some marinara sauce for dipping.

Vegetable Lasagna

I found this recipe looking for a way to use the giant zucchini (see last Wednesday's post) I got in my last share.  It called for 3 cups of chopped zucchini so I couldn't ask for anything more tailor made.  Also, it's low-fat, which seems like a good plan given the fried tomatoes!

I was missing a few ingredients called for in the recipe that I would have had if I was at my apartment, but because I am house sitting, decided not to purchase - the basil and the nutmeg.  I also didn't realize that the recipe called for "no-boil lasagna noodles" and purchased regular ones.  To be honest I had no idea there even was such a thing as no-boil noodles.  How does that even work?  Are they frozen?  I'm completely perplexed.  After all, it only takes 20 minutes to boil some water and cook noodles, what's the big deal?

I started cooking this meal around 6pm and didn't end up eating until after 9pm!  The recipe calls for sauteing the veggies for about 8 minutes.  I am guessing I just didn't chop mine small enough because getting them soft enough to include in the lasagna took 3x as long.


I wasn't entirely trusting of the white sauce either - flour and milk?  Trust it!  Once you add the cottage and parmesan cheese and mix it all up, it thickens up nicely and has great flavor.

At the end of the day the final product was WELL worth the wait.  It was really delicious.  The only thing I would change for next time - MAKE MORE VEGGIES!  I felt like the veggie layers were a little skimpy and could have used more. I would also consider adding some additional vegetables, like eggplant and summer squash.  You can only really improve on this recipe since it's darn delicious just as it is.

I think I'm going to need to start inviting people over when I cook now, since an entire lasagna for one person is really a little over the top. Leftovers for everyone!

I get my newest share today, and although I usually update my blog on Wednesday to reflect that, since I don't have my laptop while I'm house sitting I won't be able to post it until Thursday morning.

Thanks for tuning in, friends and I'll be seeing you soon!