Tag: vegetarian

Gluten-Free Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna

This year, my family and I made the same dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas because we loved them so much at Thanksgiving! Using the amazing Cappello’s gluten-free lasagna sheets, we made Gluten-Free Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna and Gluten-Free Meat Lasagna.  While neither were low-FODMAP given the heavy dose of dairy, I was able to manage alright with just a small piece given how heavy they were anyway.

On our trip to California for Thanksgiving, we had a great time in Santa Barbara – biking, visiting outdoor museums with ocean views…AAhh, what a wonderful life in California!  (I also note with sadness all of the devastation of the wildfires just weeks after our visit 🙁 ).

MOXI, Wolf Museum in Santa Barbara
MOXI, Wolf Museum in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara biking
Santa Barbara biking

Gluten-Free Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, grated (~2 cups)

1 lb ricotta cheese

1 1/4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cups vegetable stock (if you can find a brand that does not have onion and garlic that is best)

2 tbsp butter

2 large egg yolks

1/3 cup fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Gluten-free lasagna noodles (~1/2 pound)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, olive oil, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt and pepper on a baking sheet
Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.  Flip through cooking as needed.  Discard garlic
Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and grease a 9 cup baking dish
Combine ricotta, cream, egg yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt
Melt butter in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add sage and cook until light gold and crispy at the edges, watching to ensure it does not burn.  This should take 3 – 4 minutes
Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper
Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture
Place baking dish on a baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving

More Roasted Veggies

I don’t know if I ever realized how much I truly love vegetables.  Especially roasted.  Something special happens to vegetables when they are roasted…Okay, maybe I’ve taken it a step too far 🙂

Either way, with fall here and vegetables on the menu, I have spent many a Sunday roasting away.

I won’t share a recipe this post, but I roast a mix of vegetables – carrots, peppers, yellow and green squash, butternut squash and parsnips.  I usually roast them with garlic-infused olive oil, garlic, onions and salt.  Cooking times can vary for the vegetables, so I keep an eye on them – cooking for about 20 – 30 minutes for most, up to 40 for a butternut squash.

I really must recommend that combination of roasted vegetables and the Downeast Cider Pumpkin Blend – nothing really says fall more than that combo!

 

             

And a little hello from us 🙂

Trying Something New

I’ve been on this FODMAP journey for a few years now, since the end of 2013.  I followed the Stanford University FODMAP plan, completing the full elimination diet before testing what could be added back in. Since that time, I have felt an incredible improvement in how I feel based on what I eat. There have been many days, though, where I would start the day feeling great and as the day went on my stomach would begin to expand and feel uncomfortable, despite not eating anything outside of my normal FODMAP diet.

So, I decided to make a few additional changes to my diet – a combination of some of the Blue Zone guidelines and avoiding inflammation that can be caused by meat.  I’ve completely removed dairy again as well – so we will see how I do without mozzarella for my pizza : (

I’d love to know how you all are doing with the FODMAP diet and what changes you have made as time has gone on with the diet.

This has nothing to do with my new food plans, but this guy is so adorable 🙂

Low-FODMAP Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients

1 medium Italian eggplant, stemmed, peeled, and sliced into 1/4 in. rounds

1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 in. thick strips

1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 in. thick strips

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for baking pan

1 medium onion, chopped into large pieces

1 clove garlic

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

Directions

Spread the eggplant slices, zucchini strips, and squash strips on paper towels on your work surface; sprinkle with half of the salt. Turn the vegetables and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Set aside for 30 minutes, then rinse the vegetables and pat dry with fresh paper towels.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil the inside of a 9-inch square baking dish.

Warm the remaining olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper, cooking until soft and fragrant.  Remove the onion and garlic.

Stir in the tomatoes and  basil. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the consistency of a thick sauce, about 15 minutes, stirring often.

Spread half the tomato sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with even layers of the eggplant rounds, zucchini strips, and summer squash in that order. Spread the remaining tomato sauce on top.

Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, about 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.